I know better
by Tania Hylian
Summary: Elsa and Anna were pretty close as they grew up, but upon reaching teenage and adolescence, a crack opens within them; Anna promised they would always be together, but she still wants to marry some handsome prince who would take her away. It doesn't help either that there is a plot in town to kill the crown princess. Evil!Elsa. One-sided Elsanna. Major character death.
1. The new sister

**A/N: As said in the description, this fanfic has evil!Elsa (or onion!Elsa, or concept!Elsa, whatever you want to call her), but she isn't evil since the beginning. Therefore, this story will be divided in three parts, with the first one being mostly fluffy and funny, the second one angsty and the third one angsty, violent and depressing. If you're okay with that, please continue reading :)**

* * *

 **Book 1. Childhood.**

 **Chapter 1: The new sister.**

Three years Elsa – New born Anna. 

Elsa was a three years old girl, but she wasn't just a common child, no; she was a princess, more even, she was the first born of the King and Queen of Arendelle, heir to the throne, and as such, there were things expected from her, like staying in her room without complaining when her father ordered her so, even if she could hear the terrifying screams of her mother resonating trough the castle and all she wanted was to search someone's comfort. But no; she was alone in her cold dark room just hugging tightly her pillow, imagining it was her mother instead.

She knew her little brother or sister would be arriving soon, but she didn't understand why did the queen had to go through so much pain or why she couldn't be there when her sibling came to the world. She just knew that once he or she was with her everything would be alright, that she'd finally have someone to play with, someone who understood her, with who she could count all her life and that she would never feel alone again. Now, however, the emptiness of her room and the hall outside was overwhelming.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity for the young girl, the screams ceased. She waited for someone to come for her, to bring her to meet the baby that, no doubt, had already been born, but she was left there by her own until she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and she drifted to sleep.

* * *

"Papa, it's been _three_ weeks!" The child whined. "Why can't I see her yet?"

"Elsa, what have I told you about patience?" The king answered, kneeling in front of her and looking at her eyes. Elsa just frowned and continued pouting stubbornly. Her father sighed. "Your sister is very young and fragile" He tried to reason. "You could hurt her… accidentally." He hesitated at the last word, but the princess didn't notice.

"I promise I'll be careful. Pleeeasee?" She requested with hopeful eyes.

"You will see her. Eventually." The king said smiling and rubbing her hair.

"When?"

"When she's older."

"How older?"

"About your age."

 _About my age? Does it means I have to wait_ three _years? That's a lifetime!_

"But…"

"No buts. A princess should be calm and patient, and follow every rule."

Elsa was about to protest again, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her father's face became sterner, and she knew what that meant; speaking now would mean punishment, maybe even a week without chocolate! She couldn't risk it, so instead she kept her feelings at bay and answered with gritted teeth:

"Yes, father."

The man nodded and stood up, walking away as he was followed by the angry and disappointed glare of the princess.

As soon as he was out of the room, Elsa sighed and sat again on her bed, trying to play with her toys, but she soon realized she couldn't concentrate. She wondered why she wasn't allowed to see the new born, was it like that in all families, or only between royals? How did her sister looked like? Was she similar at her? Would she have powers too? Oh… right, her powers. She was born with magic over ice and snow, and no one knew why, but she loved it, even if her parents insisted her to not ever use her powers. They never gave her a reason though, so she just played freely with her cold magic when no one was looking, even if she sometimes got in trouble for it. That was one reason because of which she wanted a little sister; to share the fun of her powers with someone who could be as thrilled for them as she was.

Those were her thoughts when her stomach grumbled and she decided to go to the kitchen to see if she could steal some snack, but just as she was passing through a particular door in the desert hallway where her own room was, she heard a weird sound, like crying, but high pitched, kind of resembling one cat's meows, but clearly human at the same time. She recognized it as her sister's crying, and that was definitely her sister's room, but, unlike previous times, there was no one around to shoo her away. Curiosity won over hunger and the girl found herself approaching cautiously to the door after making sure that, indeed, no one was around, reaching up to turn the doorknob and getting in.

It was a pink room, with nothing but two chairs, a little wardrobe and a pink crib with a small bulge wrapped in blankets from where the high pitched cries were coming. Elsa's first instinct was to cover her ears and run away from the unpleasant noise, but she kept strong and started walking towards the baby.

When she climbed atop one chair and looked down inside the crib, she found a round little face with big teal eyes and a few strands of reddish hair at the top of her small head. The first thing she thought was that the newborn was certainly ugly, and that the way she was screaming and the fact she didn't have any teeth certainly didn't make her look any better. Was this really her new sister? The one she would be going to spend the rest of her life with? Her future play mate? She certainly didn't seem so, but Elsa just shrugged at the thought; she'd have to be enough, after all, anything was better than being alone.

Elsa wanted to introduce herself to the baby, but she knew she couldn't as long as she kept crying her lungs out, so she thought about how to make her stop. The crib was designed to move, so the girl thought it may be a good idea to swing it, to see if her sister could calm down that way, but it only worsened the cries. Maybe she just needed something to distract herself? Perhaps a few snowflakes swirling over her head would shut her up? Elsa certainly didn't have anything to loose, and so she make her magic, instantly appearing perfect dancing snowflakes from thin air, which emitted a faint glow that promptly caught the younger girl's attention.

 _Well she hasn't shut up, but at least she seems to be interested in my magic._

After a few moments, the baby finally stopped crying, to instead stare at the snowflakes with wide eyes, eventually using her clumsy hands to try and grab one. Elsa giggled at her fruitless efforts and tried to move all the snowflakes from left to right, enjoying the way her sister's eyes followed them closely. It was the first time her powers had a good reception, and it made her truly happy, even if the approval came from a newborn. She then made the exercise of disappearing all the snowflakes except one and making it float to the baby's little nose, which caused her to cross her eyes to see it, something that Elsa found cute and funny and it made her feel warmth in her heart. Maybe her new sibling was a lot more than it appeared at first sight. She was sure they'd get alone.

In that moment, though, Elsa was so distracted that she didn't notice when Anna (She now remembered her name) took her finger with those tiny hands of hers and stuck it into her mouth.

"Eeeeeewwww!" Elsa exclaimed upon sensing the saliva and pulled out her finger, which caused the baby to cry again. The older girl looked anxiously to the door, making sure nobody had been alerted of her presence due to her sibling's cries, and when she saw no one, she placed her finger again on the infant's little mouth without thinking twice about it. The horrible noise that was coming from that little mouth just seconds before, instantly died and Elsa saw the content face of her sister, clearly enjoying sucking at her finger.

"You're weird." Elsa said. "If father saw you he'd say that's something a princess wouldn't do… wait, has he told you that you're a princess? Well, if not, I'm telling you now: Congratulations! You're a princess, just like me… well, not quite like me; I'm the heir, whatever that means. But I'm also a princess. I'm your older sister, Elsa, and I hope we could be friends. I promise to be the best sister ever, and to always play with you. We'll have lots of fun, you'll see, and we'll snake into the kitchens to grab some chocolate. I hope you like chocolate, because it's my favorite food… Papa says princesses don't roam around the hallways at night to find food though. Actually papa is always giving orders, saying what a princess should and shouldn't do, and mamma is the same, and the nobles, even the staff! Everyone expects a lot from you when you're a princess." Elsa sighed, but then she looked at her sister's innocent gaze and couldn't help but smile, promising herself that she'd take care of her, that she'd never let anyone tell her what to do. "But you and me…" She beamed mischievously. "We know better."

In that moment, Anna's eyes started to shut down and the grip she had around Elsa's finger began to lose until she released it completely and Elsa could safely pull it out of her moth to wipe it on the blankets. Once she was sure the baby girl was sleeping, she placed a tender kiss on her temple, almost falling into the crib in the process, and said:

"Goodbye Anna. I'll come visit soon, I promise."

In that moment, the door opened and the queen stepped in, looking at her with an expression that can only be described as surprise with hints of terror.

"Elsa!" She gasped. "What are you doing here?"

"Shhh." Elsa said placing a finger on her lips. "You'll wake her up."

"But… how…?" The woman was out of words for a second.

"She was crying, so I came here and calmed her down." She explained as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "I know you didn't want me to meet her yet, but I can take care of her, see?" The girl said grinning.

Her mother approached to the crib and took Anna in her arms. After checking if she was still warm, breathing and didn't have any injuries, she was able to relax and softly place the younger princess back on her crib. She then turned to the older.

"How did you know how to calm her down?"

"I honestly didn't have any idea." Elsa giggled. "But as I was trying to figure it out, she took my finger into her mouth and eventually fell asleep. It was kind of gross." She made a face.

"Elsa." Her mother said adopting a more serious tone. "I'm not amused with you breaking the rules. We clearly told you not to come here under any circumstances until we said so." Elsa hung down her head in anticipation; she was going to be punished. " _However_ , I understand that you wanted to see your sister." Elsa's head shot up in the fraction of a second. "And maybe it wasn't the best decision to try and keep you two apart, after all you're siblings, future rulers of Arendelle, and if you're together, you'll be stronger."

"A-are you saying you're not punishing me?"

"No, you're still going a week without dessert." Elsa pouted. "But I'll talk to your father and you'll get to see your sister from time to time. Always as one of us is on watch, of course."

"Thank you!" The girl screamed as she ran and hugged her mother, who hesitated only a moment before returning the embrace. "I'm glad I won't have to be alone anymore."

The queen's heart broke at her words, feeling guilty about it, so she lifted her up in her arms and said, looking at her daughter's beautiful blue eyes:

"I know that we're not always with you, but you won't be alone never again once your sister has grown up." Elsa nodded happily. "Now, what about we go to your room and have a little tea party?"

"But tea parties are not fun!" She complained. "Why don't we better play seek and hide?"

"Elsa, that's not a princess game." The queen scolded.

"Oh… s-sorry." Elsa casted down her eyes, disappointed but not wanting to ruin the opportunity to spend time with her mother. "Tea party sounds good." She faked an smile for the queen, who nodded approvingly.

"Okay, little princess, let's go."


	2. Teaching her to walk

**Chapter 2: Teaching her to walk.**

Four years – One year.

As promised, Elsa had been spending a lot of time with her sister, at first only at their parents' presence, but then, when it was obvious that she had a lot more control over her powers than the monarchs had originally imagined, alone with the company of their nanny, who was an old lady that was asleep for the most part and, when she was awake, she was always scolding Elsa for whatever reason she made up. Elsa really disliked that woman, but she knew she couldn't do anything about it.

That day she was at their play room, pretending to be an ice dragon wanting to freeze Anna's dolls as the toddler crawled in all fours, unsuccessfully trying to escape from the ice wilder.

"Got you!" Elsa said as she placed her cold hand on her sister's back, under her dress, for the tenth time in less than half an hour, and she was certainly holding back.

"Not fair!" Anna whined pouting. "You walk."

"Oh, come on, don't be a sore loser." Elsa answered smirking, but the pouting face of her younger sibling made her partially give in, sitting in front of her. "You can walk too, you just don't do it because you're a coward." She poked at her nose.

"Elsaaaa!" The redheaded girl whined louder, tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"What? You know it's true. Just because you fall on your rear every time you stand on your feet you won't walk anymore. You're such a klutz." Elsa giggled, trying to make her sister laugh, but it was obviously a delicate subject for the girl because she crossed her arms over her chest and turned away. Elsa sighed and put an arm over the other girl's shoulders, bringing her close to her. "Hey, you know I'm just playing with you. You'll walk eventually, you'll see. You only need more practice."

"I'm scared." Anna said turning to face her, with tears on her little eyes making her look even cuter than she already was.

"You have to face your fears, Anna. Walking is pretty easy."

"Easy for you! You not problems walking!"

"No, but when I was younger I froze a bird because I couldn't control my magic. I was so sad and scared that I didn't want to use it anymore." Anna looked at her intently, eager to know what had happened. "But then I realized that if I never learned to use my powers, it was more probable that I'd end up hurting someone, so I practiced until they were fully under my control." What she didn't say was that it had been Anna's birth that compelled her to do it.

"That's great!" Anna beamed and Elsa returned the smile. "But walk…?"

"It's the same… I think. Somehow it's… related?" Elsa shrugged, not sure about what she wanted to communicate to her sister with what she said. "What's important is that you have to keep trying and that I will help you."

"Really?" Anna's face lightened up with hope.

"Of course. And I'll be there to catch you every time your feet get clumsy."

"Thanks Elsa!" Anna said, wrapping her in an enthusiastic hug. "You're best sister!"

"And you're an adorable little klutz." Elsa giggled, but before Anna could protest, she got up. "Come on, let's start."

Elsa gave Anna her hands and helped her get up. Anna's feet were a little unstable at first, but after a few seconds of firmly clenching her sister's arms, she was able to get her balance. It wasn't great, but it also wasn't something the toddler hadn't done before.

"Now I'm going to let go of you." Elsa said.

"Wait, Elsa!" Anna exclaimed, not releasing the older princess' arms. "I don't..."

"Trust me." Just as she had finished saying this, Elsa covered the surface of her forearms with ice, which made Anna let go of her, almost falling in her attempt to regain equilibrium, as the blonde girl took a step back. "See? You can stand on your own."

Anna, who had closed her eyes thinking she was going to fall, slowly opened them and saw the floor, oddly far away from her face and hands. She beamed when she realized she was still standing on her feet and looked at Elsa's now proud and smiling face.

"Now." Elsa started, extending her arms towards the little redhead. "Take a step towards me." Anna looked down and tried moving her right foot, but instantly felt like falling and stopped, staying rooted on her place.

"Elsa, I can't!" She whined. Elsa just rolled her eyes.

"Sure you can! Or are you just a clumsy coward?"

"Not a coward!" Anna cried in childish anger, her round cheeks suddenly becoming as red as her hair and her hands clenching into tiny fists.

"Looks like feisty-pants is angry." Elsa laughed, taking a few steps back. "If you want me to shut up about you being a coward, then come and get me!"

The older sister smirked when Anna frowned and attempted another step, almost falling again and stopping, her angry face quickly turning into a scared one.

"Coward, coward! Coward, coward, coward!" Elsa sing-songed, mocking the little princess. Her jeering made Anna scream angrily and take a few wobbling steps in Elsa's direction.

"So the coward can walk." Elsa feigned being surprised. "Let's see if she can catch me." Smirking, the blonde girl ran a few steps backward and stopped before resuming her mocking chant.

Practically fuming from anger, the younger girl started walking slowly towards her sister, at first taking small and cautious steps. Before long she began placing one foot in front of the other confidently, clumsily but surely making her way towards the smirking princess. Elsa had stopped calling Anna a coward soon after she started walking and was just watching approach with that cute face that said "I'm so gonna kill you".

Just as she was two steps away from Elsa, said girl offered her arms for Anna to take, but Anna refused them and just tackled her sister to the floor, pinning her hands on the ground and straddling her waist. Elsa just smiled.

"I told you you could do it." Elsa said. "And it was funny to see you so mad." She added laughing.

"Not funny." Anna pouted.

"Sure it was. Besides, now you can walk, and it's all thanks to me, the best sister in the entire world." She smirked arrogantly. Anna then quickly leaned in and bit her shoulder.

"Aaahhhh! Anna!" The older princess exclaimed, fighting against her sister's grip to get away from her little but strong teeth.

"You're mean." Anna said, releasing her. Elsa rolled her eyes. "But do help me." She added, tenderly kissing her cheek.

Elsa couldn't help but smile widely at this, her heart melting at the words of her little sister, so she sat up and pulled her in a tight embrace.

"I love you." She said.

"Love you." Anna answered, hugging her back.

"Elsa? Anna?" The girls turned around to see their mother walking towards them. "What are you doing sitting on the floor?"

"Well, I was trying to teach Anna how to walk and..."

"I don't want to hear your excuses." The queen interrupted. "A princess doesn't sit on the floor. You two are going without dessert today." Both girls whined and pouted, but the Queen ignored them. "Now, come with me to the dining room."

Elsa sighed and got up, then proceeded to help her sister stand up, but their mother went and grabbed Anna, carrying her in her arms.

"But mamma." The toddler protested. "I can walk. Elsa help."

"Anna, I've told you not to tell lies." The queen scolded her. "Come on Elsa." She said, exciting the room as the princess followed with an angered and defeated expression.

 _She can say whatever she wants, but you and me, we know better._

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 **A/N: Hey there, I wanted to tell you something that I forgot to mention on the previous chapter (sorry): The Elsa from this fic is evil!Elsa or onion!Elsa, you know the one with black hair? But you can still picture her as the Elsa from frozen if you want, even if her personality will be very different.**

 **Alright, now that I've cleared that up, thenks for reading, please leve a review and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	3. Hide and seek

**Chapter 3: Hide and seek.**

Seven years – Four years.

As years passed, the sisters' bond became even stronger, partially because they spent most of the time together, but mostly because they barely had any interaction with other human being… not a pleasant one, at least. The only ones the girls sometimes talked to were the monarchs, but they were always busy and, in the rare occasions they put aside their duties to pay attention to their daughters, it was only to scold them about something… mainly Elsa because she was the older and, therefore, the responsible one.

Elsa, however, had gotten used to be scolded, and often just laughed it off, mocking her parents when she was alone with Anna. She also usually mocked her nanny and tutors, mainly the etiquette ones since she despised all the rules and manner a princess was supposed to possess (some even said) naturally. Of course she was quite the disappointment, preferring to wear blue and manly clothes instead of the fine dresses with gaudy colors her mother bought for her, and wanting to play with the servant-kids in the mud instead of with the noble girls that often went to the castle. But she just didn't care; as long as Anna was with her to reassure her self-steam, everything would be fine.

Anna was always very sweet with her older sister and never hesitated to follow her on crazy adventures and mischiefs. She missed Elsa so much when she was busy with lessons, being that the redhead was too young to take them yet and got easily bored by her own. Soon, her parents found a solution letting the daughter of one of the servants play with her, but even if Anna did appreciate the company, it wasn't the same as being with her sister.

That day, Elsa was tired from all her lessons and all she wanted to do was to lay down and not wake up till dinner, however, as she was walking down the hallway to her room, she saw a familiar little redhead sliding through the carpet towards her, as she had taught her to do.

"Elsaaaaaaa!" She shouted as she approached happily. Elsa smiled at the sight as she opened her arms to receive her. The younger sister, however, tripped before she could slow down and ended up tackling the older on the ground, something neither of them minded and made them laugh cheerfully, the kind of laugh that can only be emitted when you find the one you've been looking forward to see after a whole stressful or boring day.

"Anna!" A voice came from behind the princess, making both girls turn to see a peasant girl, older than both, panting clearly from running after Anna. "I-I mean y-your highness." She stammered looking at Elsa with frightful eyes, then giving a small curtsey. "Princess Elsa." She said in a formal tone.

"Hi." Elsa answered smiling. "You're…" She tried remembering the girl's name. "Iris?" Iris nodded, still remaining on her stiff position. Elsa then got Anna off her and pulled them both up. "Anna's told me about you. It's nice to meet you." She held out her hand for her to take, but the servant girl just looked at it warily.

"I'm honored to be at your presence." She stated politely, her head still down. "Ann… _Princess_ Anna has told me about your Highness as well."

"Pfft, drop it!" Elsa said playfully. "You can call me Elsa, if we're going to be friends, then…"

"I'm sorry, your Highness." Iris interrupted her. "But I shall go to fulfill my duties." She curtseyed again and then turned to look at Anna. "See you… princess." And with that, the girl walked away.

"What was all that about?" Elsa asked confused, and Anna just shrugged. "Anyways." She sighed. "Where were you going?"

"I was just carpet-skating." Anna said. "Since you were not there, I really didn't have anything better to do. What about you?"

"I was going to my room. It's been an awful long day." The princess looked away sighing.

"Your tutors again?"

"Yeah…"

"Was it monsieur Antoine saying that a princess should be full of charm and grace?" She asked pronouncing wrong the manners tutor's name.

"No, but he did reprimand me because of my outfit."

"Oh, yeah 'A princess wears pink and frilly clothes'" Anna cited giggling and acting as the stiff man, which made Elsa laugh. "I think you look pretty with your blue dresses, like an Ice princess!" She complimented.

"I know, right?!" Elsa agreed. "But when I disagreed, he said that a princess always 'knows her place'. Which place? I'm heir to the throne! I could order his execution! And when I threatened him with it, he said that…" Elsa adopted a sophisticated posture with her cheeks swallowed and lowered her voice a few octaves. "'A princess doesn't do that; she's poised, calm and never, _ever_ speak her mind'." Anna clutched her stomach as she laughed, making Elsa smirk proudly. "But forget about him, what do you want to do now?"

"Will you play hide and seek with me?" Anna asked hopeful.

"Of course!" Elsa answered. Even if she was tired, she could never let down her little sister.

"You count!" Anna said and ran away.

Elsa chuckled and started counting out loud since one, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against the wall. When she was just about to say "twenty" (She usually counted till thirty), a voice brought her out of the game.

"Elsa? What are you doing here?" Her father asked. Elsa turned around startled and started fidgeting with her hands nervously, knowing she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do.

"I… well… I was…" The princess couldn't think of an excuse and didn't want to tell the truth either, so she stumbled with words.

"Elsa." The king said impatiently. "A princess doesn't stammer like that. She's always good with words, confident and honest, no matter what. Tell me what you were doing." His voice turned strict, almost bordering in anger, and Elsa knew she had to speak before things got worse; she was being punished anyways.

"I… was playing with Anna." She mumbled, deviating her gaze to the floor.

"What?" The king asked. "Speak louder, please, I can't hear you."

"I was playing with Anna." She repeated, this time raising her head in defiance. "Hide and seek."

"Is that so?" He asked as he started pacing around her, rubbing his chin. "What have we told you about hide and seek? "After a few moments of Elsa just glaring at him in silence, he stopped in front of her and looked down at her angry eyes. "Elsa?"

Elsa sighed, knowing he was the one with the power there, and answered trough gritted teeth:

"It's a peasant's game."

"And are you a peasant?"

"No." Was her short answer.

"What are you, then?"

"I'm Princess Elsa of Arendelle, Duchess of Nordfjell, first in line to the throne, daughter of King Agdar The Third and Queen Idunn." She recited, rolling her eyes.

"Exactly. But if you know that, then why were you playing a peasant's game, making your sister, Princess Anna of Arendelle, hide in some dirty corner of the castle, just so you could have fun?!" He asked, dangerously angry.

"I didn't oblige her!" Elsa complained. "She wanted to."

"Oh, really? Whose idea was it?"

Elsa clenched her fists, knowing that, is she told the truth, there was a possibility that her father wouldn't believe her, but he could also punish Anna, and Elsa was getting punished anyways because she was the older. She had to protect her sister.

"Mine." She sighed.

"Well, then go to your room and stay there the rest of the day, reflecting in what you did. You're not having dinner today."

 _What? Just for playing hide and seek?_

"But father..." The princess protested.

"Now, Elsa. I won't say it again." He said sternly.

"Alright, but can I at least find Anna first? I don't want her to stay hidden all this time."

"Don't worry about her. I'll make a servant find your sister. Now go."

And, knowing it was useless to protest any further, Elsa went to her room, pouting.

* * *

It was late night when Elsa heard her bedroom's door opening. She supposed it was her mother, maybe even her father, going to check if she was still there. Not wanting to face whoever it was, the princess pretended to be asleep.

"Elsa? Pst, Elsa." Sounded a high pitched voice that definitely didn't belong to an adult.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, sitting up to see her cute face illuminated by the moonlight. "What are you doing here?"

"Father told me what happened, so I came to bring you chocolate, you know, since you didn't have dinner." Anna extended her arm and opened her little fist, revealing a single half-melted chocolate.

"Thanks." Elsa said as she took it, and Anna smiled. As the older girl's stomach started growling, she didn't hesitate to put the sweet food in her mouth, moaning as she enjoyed the delicious flavor. Finally, she licked her fingers clean (Her tutors would totally kill her if they saw her), not getting enough of it. She then eyed at her sister's hand, still covered in chocolate, and smirked at an evil thought surged between her mind. She captured her wrist and brought the little fingers to her mouth, licking them playfully.

"Ewww! Elsa! Stop!" Anna protested, struggling against her strong grip. But the older girl only kept doing it while giggling at her sister's disgust.

"Sorry." She said as she released her after licking the little girl's fingers clean. "But you totally deserved that. It is your fault that I got punished, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Anna asked as she wiped the saliva off her hand in her sister's bed sheets.

"Didn't father tell you?" Elsa asked, surprised. As her sister shook her head, her astonishment grew even more; she'd thought Anna would at least get scolded.

"He said he caught you doing something you shouldn't be doing and that, because of it, you wouldn't be attending dinner."

"Oh." Elsa felt a pang of pain. It was unfair that Anna wasn't even reprimanded while she got to stay locked in her room without food. She knew it wasn't her sister's fault, though; it was her father's. "I-I see." Elsa swallowed to get rid of the knot that had formed on her throat and pressed her fingers to her eyes to prevent the tears from falling. Why did their parents always treat them so differently? It wasn't the first time; she'd always get the worst punishment, no matter if it was Anna who started it all, and they sure paid more attention to the younger girl, who got practically all the kisses and hugs that the monarchs had for their daughters. It was really unfair and Elsa couldn't understand why.

"Elsa? Are you Okay?" Anna asked concerned while touching her sister's shoulder. Not wanting her sibling to see her cry because she knew she always had seen her as a strong person, Elsa took a deep breath to calm herself down and looked up at her with a tender smile.

"I'm just a little tired. That's all." She lied.

"Oh. Okay. But what were you going to tell me about it being my fault? Because it wasn't, I swear!" She put up her arms defensively and Elsa chuckled.

"Nothing important." She said. "But now that you're here, why don't we play something?"

"Oh! Like what?" Anna asked excitedly.

"Well, we didn't have the opportunity to play hide and seek." Elsa smirked. She knew she was pushing her luck, but it was a way to rebel from her father's orders, to prove to herself that she hadn't submit to the authority of someone who wasn't being fair.

"Let's do it!" Anna exclaimed. "You count."

"Alright." Elsa giggled at her sister's enthusiasm. "Just don't go out my room. I'll give you twenty seconds." As Anna nodded, Elsa got up and pressed her forehead to the wall, counting and feeling better now that she was with her sister and doing something she liked. She felt… free.

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 **A/N: So, that was chapter 3, I hope you liked it, and I want to thank you all who favorited and/or followed this fic, and especially the ones who reviewd, really, you inspire me to keep writing :)**

 **Also, for those of you who are reading my other stories, I haven't ditched them for this one; I wrote this a long while ago and I'm just posting chapters I already had. I've been busy lately, that's why I haven't update my other fics in a while, but I will soon, I promise.**

 **Again, thanks for reading, and thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	4. The tree

**Chapter 4: The tree.**

Eight years – Four years.

"Elsa! Elsa, wait for me!" Whined a four years old little princess who was running after her older sister.

"Oh, come on short legs, run faster! What? Don't you want to see the surprise?" The taller girl answered giggling mischievously, but still slowing her pace a little to allow her sister to catch up with her.

Both girls arrived finally at the courtyard, where the head servant, Kai, stood beside a big object covered by a cloth. He smiled when he saw the two playful princesses appear with excited smiles on their faces. Elsa's eight birthday had been a few days ago; there had been a great ball where all the noblemen of the kingdom were invited and, against all odds, both princesses had behaved as they were supposed to… only because their parents had promised to buy them something fun if they did. Now, it had been delivered.

"What is it? What is it?" The younger girl asked while jumping in her place. "Kai, please, uncover it!"

"It's _my_ birthday present, you know?" Elsa teased.

"But you're going to share it with me, right?" Anna countered.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because I'm your cute little sister." She answered battling her eyelids, trying to look as cute as possible, something she succeeded on. Elsa rolled her eyes as she smiled at her antics.

"Okay, Kai, you can uncover it now. Or else Anna will go and rip out the cloth herself."

"As you wish, princess." The servant replied with a kind smile as he did as he was told, and what was revealed was quite a surprise for both girls; it was an strange machine that had two wheels and two gears connected with a chain. Elsa had only seen it in pictures, but she knew it was a bicycle, the last call in fancy transporting technology, usually used by nobles to wander around. She never thought her parents would actually grant her with something so wonderful.

"Wow" Both girls exclaimed in awe, their breath having been taken away by the precious gift.

"What is it?" Anna asked.

"A bicycle." Elsa replied. "It's… like a horse made of metal."

"Uh?" Her little sister asked with a confused gaze.

"Never mind, do you want to ride it?" Elsa asked instead.

"Of course!" The younger girl exclaimed overly excited and began to make her way to the mysterious object, but was soon stopped by Kai.

"Wait, princess. The king and queen ordered that you shouldn't ride on the bike until your sister had learned how to do it."

"But…" Anna tried to protest.

"You're too young to ride it yourself, and it's not as easy as riding a horse. If your sister doesn't learn to do so first, you both would fall and get hurt." Anna pouted hoping to make the head servant relent, but he did not, and this time her sister didn't support her.

"Maybe he's right this time, you know?" Elsa admitted, though reluctantly; she didn't want her sister to get hurt. "But I promise I'll try to learn how to ride it as soon as possible, so we can play with it, is that alright?" Anna nodded resigned, still keeping a little cute pout in her face. "Why don't we instead go to the garden and feed the ducks? I know you like that." Elsa suggested instead, trying to please the stubborn girl.

"Alright…" Anna sighed, a little disappointed, but still happy about the prospect of spending the day with her sister, and followed her to the garden.

* * *

They were supposed to just feed the ducks and then retire for their respective classes, but of course, things rarely go like planned, especially when two hyperactive girls wanting to avoid their duties are involved. It was Anna the one who had suggested to try and climb the three, but it was Elsa the one who agreed (almost too eagerly) to do so, since she really didn't want another history lesson that she wouldn't even remember in a couple of days anyways.

"Come on, Elsa!" Anna urged her, having already put her small hands into the lowest branch and trying to lift herself up. "I bet I can get up there faster than you." The little girl challenged her.

"Oh, really?" Elsa smirked, loving challenges, but loving even more wining at her own way. "Look at this." Saying that, the princess moved her hand and a stairwell materialized in front of her so she could easily get to the top of the three. Once she was there, she looked down at her still hanging sister. "See? You never even had a chance. Never challenge the ice queen."

"Not fair!" Anna whined pouting. "No magic!" But Elsa just laughed.

"Magic is a part of me, you know? And I will always use it if it gives me an advantage."

"But… that's cheating!" The little princess complained.

"It's not. Besides, the whole point was to get up here, wasn't it? Just climb it already". Anna pouted and Elsa sighed; she knew her sister had a point, but she didn't really want to admit it. "Look, of you can manage to do what I do without having magic, you will be better at it than me." She said instead, confident that Anna would never manage to climb that three… of course, she wasn't counting on the feisty redhead's recklessness.

Anna, a look of determination on her little face, decided she'd prove Elsa she could be just as good as her, at anything she did. So she somehow managed to lift herself up into the branch, only to immediately reach for the next one repeating the process. Elsa looked at her in amusement, as she still had three more branches to go, and the next one seemed to be too tall for her, however, when the little redhead started bouncing in the tip of her feet trying to reach the branch, Elsa's smile disappeared; Anna could easily fall in that position, and it'd all be her fault. But to her utter shock and surprise, she actually managed to grab said branch and climb it… to then immediately fall.

As it turned out, it was an old branch, so it easily broke under Anna's weight, making her fall in the ground with a thud.

"Anna!" Elsa screamed as she quickly descended her stairwell and kneeled at her side, worried about her wellbeing. "Oh my god Anna! Are you okay?" She asked touching her shoulder. The princess slowly turned around and Elsa saw unshed tears in her eyes as those teal orbs looked down. Elsa followed her gaze and found that she had scratched her right knee and both of her hands. Fortunately, it didn't seem like it was something serious.

However, Anna apparently still felt it like it was a huge wound, because she soon started crying, tears falling freely from her eyes and hiccups interrupting her whining. It broke Elsa's heart that it had been her who cause her such discomfort, so she tried to make her feel better by pulling her close and rubbing her back.

"I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have… I'm a cheater, okay? You were right. You win. I'm sorry." She said as her little sister continued crying in her arms. In that moment, Anna turned to look at her with teary eyes and, despite the situation, the older princess couldn't help thinking she actually looked cute when she cried.

"Kiss me?" Anna asked pouting. "It helps."

Elsa knew her sister was referring to that one time when she'd fell a few years ago and their mother had kissed her hands saying it was magic and that it would cure her. Of course, the older girl even then knew it was all a lie to calm her down, but in that moment she decided to comply; after all it was her fault that she was suffering.

"Of course." Elsa answered smiling before taking Anna's hands and kissing each of them where the scratches were before leaning down and also kissing her knee. "Better?" When Anna nodded, grateful for Elsa's efforts, the older girl decided it was time to go inside the castle; she didn't want to get in trouble in case her sister managed to somehow get hurt again, so she helped her stand up and walked with her to the door.

* * *

"What were you two thinking?!" The king yelled to the little princesses. "We've both told you many times not to do anything dangerous. You're both royals, you can't risk yourselves like that."

Elsa rolled her eyes; she'd heard the same thing countless times for far worse injuries. Really, this was just a scratch. Regardless, she wasn't going to argue; she knew it'd only make the punishment worse.

"But we were just climbing a tree" Anna protested and Elsa shot her a 'shut up' glance.

"Princesses don't climb trees." The queen intervened. "It's not proper for a girl, much less for one of royal blood like yourselves." She sighed. "Elsa, I'm very disappointed of you; you are the older, you should've known better."

"Not to mention you're heir to the throne." Their father agreed. "One day you'll be queen of Arendelle, and a queen must be serious and composed."

"Yes father." Elsa answered through gritted teeth. "It won't happen again."

"And you, Anna." The queen continued. "You may not be destined to be a queen, but one day you'll have to get married, and a prince won't want a wild lady who goes around climbing things and hurting herself. You may not realize it yet, but you have to start preparing yourself for marriage since now."

In that moment Elsa understood what her mother was implying; since Anna wasn't born first and neither was she a boy, she wasn't really useful in Arendelle. She'd read about it in her boring history lessons; princesses were usually sold-off as wives to make alliances with other countries or to strengthen existing ones. And she really didn't like the idea of her sweet innocent sister being treated like that.

"But I'm still too young!" Anna whined.

"Yes, but our parents are really worried about the quality of their future merchandise, am I right?" She turned to look defiantly at the monarchs. "You see Anna as just another good of the kingdom that you can just sell like everything else. Well, you're wrong; I won't let you do that to her! As long as I live, Anna won't marry any foreign prince just because you say it!" At this, Elsa stormed out pushing her father in the process.

"Elsa! Come back, that's no way to talk to your parents!" The king yelled after her, but it was already too late; she was gone. He sighed and rubbed his temple. "Sometimes I don't know what to do with her."

"I know." The queen agreed. "She doesn't seem to care about punishments anymore."

"Maybe we should be harsher. She's too used to getting what she wants."

"Wh-what are you going to do with her?" Anna's small voice startled them; they had forgotten the youngest princess was still in the room. "It wasn't her fault, really. The tree… I suggested to climb it. Please, don't punish her."

"I'm sorry sweetie." The king said kneeling before the redhead and placing a hand on her shoulder. "But she has to understand what her place is; she has to learn to follow the rules, otherwise she could be dangerous."

"Dangerous?" Anna asked. "Elsa isn't dangerous, she's a little arrogant and sometimes she likes to play jokes, but she's very sweet and caring, really."

"You'll understand when you're older." The king said. "Now go to your room."

"But… what about Elsa?"

"She'll get what she brought to herself." He answered with a stern voice. "Now go to your room."

"But…"

"Now." The king's voice left no room to argument, so Anna just bowed her head and left, hoping she hadn't managed to get her sister in trouble.

* * *

 **A/N: Please follow, favorite and review if you want to. See you next time :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moorwatcher13 :)**


	5. The bicycle

**WARNING: Implied child abuse.**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: The bicycle.**

Eight years – Four years.

Elsa spent two weeks locked in her room. Two WHOLE weeks. She wasn't allowed to leave not even to eat (the food was brought to her chambers) or to see her sister, and she spent all day, from nine to nine, taking boring and exhausting lessons, watching her sister play outside from the window and wishing she could be there with her.

That wasn't the first time she was locked, of course, but at least in the previous two occasions she'd eaten with her family at the dinning room and was allowed to see Anna before going to sleep. This was just... exaggerated, inhumane and totally unfair. She still thought she didn't deserve it. Even after two weeks, she hadn't learned her lesson.

But anyways, there was nothing she could do about it, so after that, she spent an entire month learning to ride her bicycle, and by the end of it she considered herself an expert, going everywhere in her birthday present, even if her parents didn't think she was good enough yet to take her sister with her... Though said sister wasn't making it easy to refuse.

"Please Elsa?" The little girl asked, making the most adorable pout ever. "Take me with you in the bik".

"Bike." Elsa corrected her. "And no, you know our parents forbid it." She tried to argue.

"But you never obey them anyways." Anna countered, making puppy dog eyes.

"Yes, but I really don't want to spend another week locked in my room."

"You won't. I won't tell them, I promise. Pleeease?" She asked again, and Elsa hesitated at her adorableness before letting out a sigh and looking playfully at her sister.

"You're gonna be the death of me." She said before gesturing Anna to come up the bike.

"Yaaaay!" The redhead screamed happily before clumsily getting into the back sit with her sister's help. Once the older girl was sure Anna wouldn't fall off, she gave her a playful smile.

"Are you ready for some speed?" She asked.

"I was born ready!" Anna answered throwing her arms up in excitement.

"Alright." Elsa chuckled. "Just hold on tight and don't let go of me." Only when she was sure her sister's little arms were tightly wrapped around her waist did Elsa dare start pedaling down the hallway, amused at the awed sound Anna made when the speed started increasing. Encouraged by her sister's reaction, Elsa turned around a corner and increased the speed even more in the larger hallway, before turning another corner and descending a small stair that made them jump a little.

"Hehehe, this is so fun!" Anna laughed. "We should go to the garden, I bet the pebbled path will be even better than these flat hallways."

"But Anna, to get there we'd have to descend the great stairwell, and I can't do that on my own. We'd need to ask help and we'd be discovered."

"Can't you just ride your bike down of it?" Anna asked, confused.

"Well… I _could_ , but…"

"Are you afraid?" Anna teased, knowing this way her sister would agree in a heartbeat.

"Of course not!" Elsa answered, falling into the trap. "Hold on, because we'll soon have a fast descend." That said, she ran the bike faster trough the hallways, enjoying the way her sister kept laughing and screaming as they approached their destination. It was a good thing that this part of the castle, being the royal wing, was mostly deserted.

* * *

Soon they arrived to the stairwell, the longest and highest one in the castle. And it was a bit curved, so it was clearly very dangerous. However, Elsa didn't even slowed down as they descended though it.

About ten steps later, the older princess understood why this was a bad idea. She started to lose control; the handle bar move at its own accord without her being able to do anything with her child strength. She tried to stay calm, but not even the brakes seemed to be working.

Anna, on the other hand, remained completely unaware of the dangerous situation they were in as she laughed and screamed excitedly, forgetting that she had to keep holding Elsa's waist as she threw up her arms shouting "Awesome!" That's when it all went down.

The bike gave a particularly high jump as it hit one step a little too fast, and this caused Anna, who wasn't holding to anything, to practically fly all the way down to the floor, which still was at least four meters behind them. If not for Elsa's quick reaction, her sister wouldn't have survived.

The older girl saw her sister falling and, panicking, did the only thing she could think of; shoot forward her arms conjuring a mountain of snow to cushion her fall. However, doing this, she let go of the bike and she herself ended up falling and crashing into the pile of snow next to her sister, surprisingly unharmed.

"Elsa?" Anna asked after a few seconds, to which the older girl answered getting out of the pile of snow and searching for her sister, who gave her a huge smile as she saw her. "You saved me!" She said, looking at the mountain of snow in awe.

"Yeah, I did, you irresponsible brat." Elsa almost spat, looking down sternly at her sister. "Y-you could have _died_!" The older princess tried to keep her voice even, but she was still a little shaken after the adrenaline shock she had just experienced. "I told you not to let go of me!"

"But… nothing happened." Anna pouted, her lower lip trembling a little as her eyes filled with tears, not used at having her sister's anger directed at her.

"Only because I used my powers, but you know I shouldn't have done that." Elsa sighed, running her hands through her hair. "Dad is gonna be _pissed_."

"You… regret saving me?" Anna asked, now at the verge of tears, which finally snapped Elsa out of her furious state.

"No, I-I… I didn't mean it like that!" The older girl quickly corrected as she kneeled in front of her sister and took her hands. "You're my sister and I don't want anything happen to you… and seeing you falling…" She sniffled, fighting hard to keep in her tears. "I got scared. Sorry for getting mad at you, but I really don't want to lose you." She concluded, giving her a sad smile before finding herself tightly wrapped by two little arms.

"But you saved me, you always will. You're the best sister ever." Anna said, making a huge smile appear in her older sister's face.

"Yeah, I will always save you, even if to do so I have to use my powers." Elsa assured her.

"Why did father forbid them anyways?" Anna asked, separating from her and ending the hug.

"Because I kept freezing my teacher's tea, remember?" Elsa raised an eyebrow, surprised that her sister didn't remember how much trouble they got in because of that.

"Oh! That's true, you also froze our nanny's big behind!" the redheaded princess laughed.

"Yeah, but only because you suggested it… and she totally deserved it." She added with a playful smile.

"She did! You should use your powers more often!" The child chirped in, making her sister's smile promptly disappear.

"I can't. I told you."

"Just one snowman, pleaaaseee?" The girl gave her puppy dog eyes that never failed to make Elsa submit to all of her wishes, but the older girl tried to resist anyways.

"N-no. Anna, look… Didn't you want to ride my bicycle?" She asked, trying to distract the little girl.

"I do, but I also want to see your powers." She pouted, frowning as if trying to think which the best solution was. "Oh! I have an idea!" She exclaimed excitedly, making Elsa groan, because she knew Anna's ideas always got them in trouble. "Why don't you use your powers to create a ramp so we can descend the stairs better?"

"I don't know." Elsa bit her lip. The idea sounded appealing enough to her, after all, if she made a ramp with her powers she could control their descend way better than with the bike alone… but if using her powers was enough reason for her parents to punish her, she didn't want to imagine what riding her bicycle with Anna _while_ using her powers would imply.

"Please Elsa?" The redhead pouted. "Our parents are in a meeting with some dig… uh… dig-na-ta-ries." She said, having difficult to pronounce the last word. "They won't know!"

"Alright." Elsa sighed, remembering that their parents were too busy that morning and thinking they probably wouldn't get caught because they were in the royal wing and almost no one went there. "But if we get caught it was your fault."

"Yeeessss!" The girl shouted, getting up and making excited jumps as she started to ascend the stairs. Elsa chuckled and shook her head as she followed her sister, creating a ramp in her ascend and taking the bike with her. She just hoped she wouldn't regret her decision later.

* * *

The first time they descended they almost crashed with the suits of armor that were at the end of the stairs, but thanks to Elsa's powers they didn't, and all was laughs and fun. The second time they went a little slower thanks to Elsa's not-so-slippery-ice and didn't need the snow to prevent them from falling into their deaths. The third time they didn't even think about the possibility of falling. By the tenth time, Elsa was so confident she even tried it without placing her hands into the handlebar, much to her sister's amazement.

The twentieth time, their parents arrived.

They had been so caught up in their game they didn't even glanced at the clock, which was a shame, because then a lot of trouble could have been avoided.

Also, their parents weren't alone; they were with the Duke of Weselton, ambassador from the Southern Isles, who after having seen Elsa's powers, started calling her a monster… that is, until he realized she was the crown princess and apologized profusely before being asked to leave the palace by the king, who obviously wouldn't tolerate such disrespect. Still, after the old man was out of sight, King Adgar turned to look at Elsa sternly.

"Go to my office. Now." His angry (almost fuming) voice, together with his clenched fists made Elsa hesitate. She didn't want to argue, not while he was so mad with her already, but she was scared at his tone; it was one he had never used with her. But… she didn't want to obey either.

"F-father…" She tried to speak with him, but he cut her off.

"NOW!" He shouted, making Elsa take a step back before slowly starting to walk with trembling legs. She had exceed the limits this time. She knew the punishment would be harsh.

"Wait, father." Anna tried with a small voice, making Elsa pause. "I-it was my fault." The older girl felt her chest warm a little at the girl's bravery, but she knew it would do no good.

"Oh, really?" The King asked, not even trying to dissimulate his anger. "Did you made all that snow and ice?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Then, did you rode that bicycle?"

"Father, please…" The little girl said, trying to save her sister from punishment.

"Idunn. Take her to her room. Make sure she stays there." The King commanded to his wife, who promptly took her youngest daughter's hand and lead her away, despite her protests. Then, once they were gone, Adgar turned to the older princess, who was looking at him with a scared expression. "Elsa. Come." He said and, without turning to look at her again, he started walking.

Not wanting to get into more trouble, Elsa started dragging her little feet through the floor, following her father even though her instincts were telling her to run.

* * *

Anna only managed to sneak out of her room around nine, when her parents had retired for the night and, as stealthily as possible, walked all the way to her sister's room to then open the door quietly and close it after she had entered. She scanned the room with curious eyes, to try and see if her sister was still awake. Much to her disappointment, however, she had already gone to sleep.

Still, the girl didn't give up just yet, because it was possible that the older girl was just pretending to be asleep in case their parents went to check, more so considering the low temperature of the room, so she walked towards the big bed and tried to take a better look at her sister.

"Elsa. Psst, Elsa!" She tried. "Are you awake?" After not getting an answer for a few moments she sighed internally, but just as she was about to walk away, her sister spoke.

"Go away, Anna." She said, her voice so sad and pained the redhead almost didn't recognize it.

"Elsa!" She exclaimed, noticing her sister was obviously in distress and quickly jumping up to the bed, to get a closer look of the older girl, to which she answered burying herself in the blankets.

"Go away, I'm tired." She protested with an annoyed tone, and Anna would maybe have believed her if she hadn't noticed the obvious trembling of her body.

"I-I… I just came to tell you that I'm sorry about wat happened. If I had known…"

"Just fucking leave!" Elsa shouted, still not coming out of her blankets. "All you ever do is getting me into trouble!"

"B-but Elsa…" Anna's lip started trembling as her sister's words broke her heart, but apparently the crown princess had had enough of her.

"I said leave!" At this, the older princess threw away her blankets and sat up, looking at Anna with an angry expression, chest heaving rapidly and fists tightly clenched as ice spread over the blankets. When Elsa noticed her sister's flinch, she looked down at the ice and tightly closed her eyes, silently willing it to retreat, but it was for naught, and soon tears were falling from her eyes as she trembled uncontrollably.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, confused since she didn't know why her sister (her older sister the one who could do anything and that was afraid of nothing) was crying, and, if her wet cheeks and raspy voice were any indication, had been doing it for a while. "A-are you okay?" Elsa just shook her head and hugged herself tightly as sobs escaped from her mouth. "What happened?"

"N-Nothing." The girl said, her sobs and whimpers growing in volume, making Anna all the more concerned as she searched for something odd in her sister, trying to get a clue about why she was crying. Suddenly she found them; the gloves placed in her hands.

"Why are you wearing gloves? I thought you didn't like them?" She asked.

"I don't." Elsa answered before she could stop herself.

"Then why don't you take them off?" Saying this, Anna captured one of her sister's hands at the same time as the older girl pulled it away, the result being the glove being removed from her hand. Instantly, Elsa tried to hide said hand, but it was too late; Anna had already noticed the bandage and captured her limb to try and examine it. It had blood all over the palm, and the parts the bandage didn't reach to cover had painful-looking wounds and bruises.

"What happened to you?" Anna gasped. Elsa only looked away and took a deep breath readying herself to answer.

"I fell." She said, obviously trying to keep her sobs at bay.

"And you say _I_ 'm a klutz." Anna giggled, trying to make her sister laugh. Elsa only give her a fake smile, but Anna seemed to buy it. "Would me kissing them help?"

"I-I guess." Elsa shrugged, knowing her sister only wanted to feel like she could take care of her for a change, however, she didn't expect to feel relief when her sister's lips touched her wounds. True, the pain in her hands didn't change, but the pain in her heart diminished considerably.

"Better?" Anna asked, smiling, to which Elsa could only nod before wrapping her arms around the redhead and pulling her into a tight hug, letting herself feel the comforting warmth of her sister and open her heart to receive the love. She also let herself cry in her sister's shoulder until she'd soaked her nightgown, for once being the one who needed to be soothed. She had never want it to come to this, she crying in a younger girl's shoulder, because she felt her pride was being damaged, but she didn't have any other option; she couldn't go to her parents and she had no friends, so she swallowed her pride and just let herself show vulnerability for once, glad more than ever that she had Anna.

Anna on the other hand, couldn't comprehend why her sister kept crying, but sensing she didn't need her to ask more questions but just to be there for her, she decided it didn't matter, and just hold her until they both finally fell asleep.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you liked this chapter and that it didn't break your hearts too much XD. Please review favorite and/or follow if you're enjoying this story :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moorwatcher13 :)**


	6. The kiss

**Chapter 6: The kiss.**

Ten years – Seven years.

"Elsaaaaa!" A little redheaded princess whined from her spot atop the bed for the tenth time in less than half an hour, making her sister's shoulders tense with stress and frustration. "Come play with me!" She demanded.

"I told you; I can't." Elsa answered though gritted teeth as she hurried up to finish the essay she had to give to her history teacher _soon_.

"Because of that boring stuff?" Anna asked, pouting. "You've never liked it!"

"I don't, but I _have_ to do it." The older girl said as she reread the sentence she'd just wrote, realizing it didn't make sense because of her sister's distracting voice. Still, she couldn't bring herself to tell her to leave.

"Why?" The little princess asked, as she played with one of her now long braids.

"Because, unlike you, I'm going to be queen someday. Everyone will depend on me to make good decisions as I rule the kingdom." Elsa rolled her eyes, wondering why her sister had even asked.

"But no matter how much you study or don't study, I'm sure you'll be a great queen." Anna said, sincerity clear in her voice, which in turn made Elsa smile with affection.

"I know… but I want to be sure nonetheless." She said. It was strange, but for the past year or so she'd been more and more interested on her classes. She did want to be a good queen, a better one than her parents. Maybe then the monarchs would be proud of her and the people of Arendelle would love her. At least, that's what she hoped.

"See? You _already_ are a good queen." The young girl said, partially because it was true, and partially because she wanted to play with her sister.

"I'm good, but I'm not a queen yet." Elsa smirked, playfully glancing at her sister.

"But you'll be! And when that happens, I'll be there with you." Anna said excitedly, but Elsa felt a little pain in her heart. She wanted to be with Anna forever, but… most probably she'd marry a prince someday and be taken away.

 _Not if I can stop it._

"Yes, you'll be my right hand, I promise." She said fervently.

"But first I'd like to travel all around the world, meet new people, explore new places… and tell them all about my beautiful and talented sister!" Elsa chuckled at her sister's enthusiasm, her heart warming at her words, even if she didn't want Anna to ever be that far away from her. Still, she knew she'd have to give her some freedom.

"Yes, and when you return, we'll rule our kingdom together."

"Everyone will love us! The queens of Arendelle!" She exclaimed, moving her hand in front of her as if picturing them as monarchs.

"You know only _I_ would be queen, right?" Elsa raised an eyebrow playfully. "You'd be crown princess."

"Oh, well, I've always liked princesses!" Anna said, not even a little less excited than before, but then she assumed a thoughtful expression. "That reminds me… mother brought me a new fairytale book today." Sensing this to be an ideal opportunity to make her sister stop distracting her without blatantly kicking her out of her room, Elsa quickly spoke.

"You should read it! And then you can tell me about it."

"But… I like being with you." Anna pouted.

"Well, you can read it here then."

"Really?!" Anna asked excitedly and, at her sister's nod, she practically ran out of the room. "I'll be right back!" Elsa shook her head and chuckled at her sister's antics before returning back to work, a happy little smile clear on her face.

* * *

As it turned out, her sister's little distraction had cost Elsa dearly. She didn't manage to finish her homework in time, and so was punished by a veritable mountain of additional homework and had to spend five days locked in her room before she managed to complete it all. It didn't matter though; she was used to it by then, and her sister went to her door every night to tell her about her day and about the fairytale she'd most recently read, which made her days bearable. Barely.

Finally, at the sixth day, she was able to see her sister again, and of course the first thing they did was to hug as if it had been an eternity since they'd last saw each other. Then, after taking breakfast together (Elsa purposely ignoring her parents), Anna had gone to take her etiquette and dance lessons, while Elsa had gone to take other, more complicated, lessons in history, economics and politics. She detested those subjects, but they still were better than Anna's, even if she still had to take dance lessons at least once a week and her parents usually reprimanded her if she did not behave as her etiquette teacher had taught her.

After having lunch though, they were allowed to have a little recess between lessons, and so they met in the portrait gallery, a massive room filled with dozens of paintings of important historical figures. There, Elsa found her sister laying on a couch and reading some story from her new book.

"Hey there." Elsa called her as she approached her from behind, her voice betraying how tired she was.

"Elsa!" Anna almost jumped from the couch, as energetic as always, and went to hug her tightly before quickly turning to look up at her, not letting go of the older princess.

"How was your day? Good?" She asked, eying her lovingly.

"Yeah, dance classes are fun! I feel like Cinderella when I'm practicing all those sophisticated moves." She said enthusiastically, before frowning and making a cute little pout. "I hate etiquette though."

"I know. It's horrible." Elsa grimaced, but then remembered they were not in their classes anymore and should enjoy their time together. "So… you're reading Cinderella then?" She asked, eying at the book laying forgotten on the couch.

"No, that one I finished yesterday; I'm now reading about the princess and the dragon."

"Oh, the most classic fairytale of all." Elsa smiled, remembering when she'd read it, even if she wasn't particularly fond of those sort of books, and so didn't remember well how it went. "Is it the one where the princess has a curse and falls asleep and an evil fairy turns into a dragon?"

"No! That's Sleeping Beauty! I told you about it three days ago!" Anna pouted, clearly upset that her sister hadn't been paying attention.

"Sorry, I feel asleep." Elsa answered sheepishly. "What's this story about then?"

"It's about a princess that is so beautiful that all the men in the kingdom want to marry her, and so her father locks her in a tower and has a dragon guard the entrance. Only the one who can defeat said dragon will be given the princess' hand in marriage. At the end, a handsome prince rescues her, they fall in love and they ride to the sunset. Very romantic!" She sighs with dreamy eyes, as her sister makes a gagging sound.

"Ugh, how can you like those stories? There's no such thing as love at first sight." She frowned.

"Of course there is!" Anna protested vehemently. "And when I marry my prince charming I'm going to make you eat your words!"

"Whatever." Elsa rolled her eyes, figuring there was no use on arguing with a whiny child who wouldn't understand anyways. "Why don't we stop talking so much and play something instead?"

"Yay!" The young girl screamed, shooting her arms up in excitement. "How about we play that I'm a princess and I'm in a tower and… and you're the handsome prince who comes and rescue me!" She beamed as if she had just had the best idea ever.

"Me? A prince? No, thank you." Elsa refused, but when she saw her sister's pouting face she had to deviate her gaze to avoid giving up.

"Please? Come on Elsa, it'll be fun!"

"But… wh-who'll be the dragon?" Elsa tried to protest.

"You can make it with snow." The younger girl answered as if it was obvious, knowing full well that her sister could now control her powers enough to do that, but…

"I can't." Elsa's gaze instantly became sad, her voice wavering slightly. "Our parents forbid it."

"And you still practice it Sundays at midnight." Anna countered.

"Only because I know they won't notice!" Elsa almost shrieked, her gloved hands trembling, though she didn't know if for fear or rage. "I can't risk it, Anna." She almost pleaded, but her sister didn't seem to care.

"Just… just the dragon! You can melt it if we hear someone approaching."

"Anna…" She shook her head as she wrapped her arms around her torso.

"Please?" She pouted.

"Enough, Anna." She gritted her teeth, knowing full well her sister could make her do anything she wanted, even if it was forbidden, if she insisted enough.

"But Elsa…" She tried to reach for her, but the older girl retreated in fear, already feeling the ice magic trying to obey at her sister's command.

"I said no!" She snapped, just as she lost control of her powers and heard the crack of ice. When she opened her eyes, she found a great snowflake had formed under her feet, before looking at Anna, who had a sad and disappointed smile.

This, however, didn't worry Elsa nearly as much as the fact that her powers had slipped through her gloves. Sure, they'd been more difficult to control as of late, but… she thought she could manage, and the gloves certainly helped with her control, as much as she hated the constricting feeling they gave her. But this… this was uncharacteristic of her. More so, it seemed her magic had responded to her desire to please Anna, and not to her rational command of not doing magic. This could cause her big problems in the future.

"Elsa?" Anna asked, worried at seeing her sister so terrified of her own ice, making the crown princess' head shoot up too look at her, before she excused herself.

"I-I'm sorry. I have to go." She said, before practically flying out of the room.

* * *

Elsa had been locked in her room since after her little incident with Anna, this time because of her own choice. She was too afraid to meet her parents, fearing Anna had told them about what had happened, and not wanting to see her little sister in case the incident repeated itself.

She was just sitting in her bed, thinking, rocking back and forth, trying to make sense of what had happed in order to prevent it from happening again… and then, suddenly, she heard the lock of her door being turned, and tensed, thinking it was her father, but no; it was just Anna… holding her personal servant's keys, and carrying a paper knife and a dragon toy, as well as two dolls representing both of them.

"Anna? What are you doing here?" She asked, unconsciously retreating further into her bed. The redhead, however, didn't answer, and instead put the dragon on the mattress before going to search for something tall and cylindrical, in this case a metal can where Elsa kept her jewelry (that she didn't use, by the way), putting it behind the dragon, and placing the Anna-doll on it, while she hided the Elsa-doll and the paper knife somewhere at her feet.

Elsa eyed her sister curiously as she started to speak, holding the Anna-doll and making her move like she was the one talking.

"Oh, I'm so beautiful! I wish I wasn't that beautiful, then father wouldn't have locked me in this tower." She said dramatically and, despite her previous mood, Elsa found herself smiling slightly at the adorable scene. Then, with her other hand, Anna took the dragon and also spoke. "I'm a ferocious dragon, and I'm going to burn anyone who comes here! Hahahaha!" She said with her best malevolent voice, which didn't really sound so menacing, making her sister giggle.

Then, the little redhead reached down and got the Elsa-doll and the paper knife, making it seem as if the doll were holding the knife as a sword.

"Worry not, my princess." She said with what she hoped sounded like a brave tone of voice. "I will rescue you from this beast!"

"No, please, I don't want you to die like the others." She made the Anna-doll say.

"That won't happen; I have my awesome ice powers and my ice sword!" The Elsa-doll answered. "Look!" At this, she made as if the knife flew out of her hand, and stabbed the dragon on it's heart.

"Oh, no! I've been defeated!" She made the dragon say as it fell from the bed.

"My hero!" The Anna-doll exclaimed excitedly as it jumped from the can and approached the Elsa doll. "Now we should get married and be happily ever after." Anna concluded as she made the dolls kiss, much to the amusement of her sister, who by then had completely forgotten about the little incident of before and was clapping at the spectacle.

"Wow, Anna that was really funny!" She smiled widely. "Thank you. I think _you_ are my hero."

"You liked it?" The redhead chirped excitedly as she climbed onto the bed and crawled towards her sister, smiling when she nodded. "Then I think I've earned a kiss."

"Come here." Elsa said, opening her arms, ready to give her little sister a kiss on her cheek. What she didn't expect though was to feel a pair of warm lips on her own.

She didn't expect to like it either, but Anna's lips were so soft and warm that… how could she not like them? She knew it probably wasn't right, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

* * *

 **A/N: This is where the chapters I had already finished end, so updates will be slower from now on. Sorry. Also, I hope you liked this little bit of fluff and that you review if you did. Till next time :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	7. The prophecy

**Chapter 7: The prophecy.**

Twelve years – Eight years.

It was a winter morning, during Elsa's twelfth birthday. She had been playing with Anna all day as this was the only time of the year she was free from her boring classes. And of course, she had been a knight while the redheaded princess had played as the damsel in distress. It had become Anna's favorite game over the years… and truth to be told, Elsa didn't mind it one bit. Actually, maybe she liked it a little too much. Especially the kiss that eventually came at the end. True, they were just little pecks on the lips, but… they never failed to make butterflies appear in her stomach as a pleasant sensation burned its way through her body.

Elsa had tried searching about the subject one day at the library, but she'd found little to nothing. The only thing she read about women loving other women in a way that wasn't strictly platonic, had been that it was wrong and unnatural and such women were going to burn in hell so… yeah, it didn't help much.

That day Elsa was also heading to the library, but not to investigate further about such matters, nor to search a book to do some of her homework. Instead since it was her twelfth birthday, her parents had decided that she was old enough to learn some secret that she really had no interest in… but both monarchs had summoned her, so she didn't have any option. Sighing, she opened the door of the library and walked to where her parents were standing, next to some bookcase and watching a book that looked beyond ancient.

"You requested my presence?" Elsa asked as politely as she could, even if she was annoyed that they had made her leave her sister early.

"Oh, yes. Elsa, please come." The king answered as the three royals walked towards one of the tables. Once they were all sat, he spoke again. "You see, Elsa, your mother and I… we've been meaning to tell you something ever since you were born, but you weren't ready." Hearing this, Elsa titled her head in confusion, but at the same time, she was curious to know this important thing they'd been keeping from her.

"Adgar." The queen interrupted. "I still think she isn't ready yet. It's not something a child should hear." She looked at him with pleading eyes and the king sighed.

"I know, but we've already discussed this." He reminded her. "She will have to go to the town and attend important events sooner or later. If she doesn't hear this from us, she'll hear it somewhere else."

"Yes, I understand but…"

"Enough." Adgar's strict voice quieted his wife, telling her that his mind was already made up. Then she turned to Elsa and handed her the book, which she eyed with curiosity. There were strange runes inscribed, and some drawings of weird-looking creatures, but she didn't understand anything. "You see, Elsa..." The king started. "Once upon a time, when Arendelle was founded, it wasn't only the savages of the mountains that our ancestors had to fight in order to build a city here; there were also magical creatures, like witches, ogres and fairies." Elsa looked at him in disbelief. Did he really think all those stupid tales were true? "However, the most difficult ones to fight, were the trolls. As they were made of rock, swords wouldn't hurt them, and the cannons were far too big to be transported through the steep roads. Plus, they possessed great magic, and were able to cast curses on the men that dared try and kill them." Adgar paused, letting Elsa process all this information, and the girl started looking at the drawings, now seeing they represented just that. "At the end, a powerful man was able to defeat them, though the stories doesn't tell how. Some say he somehow stole their magic, but no one knows for sure. At the end only one of those creatures remained, the eldest troll, and, with his last breath, he casted a curse upon the new kingdom."

"But… I mean… that's just a tale… right?" Elsa asked what she had been thinking all the while.

"I thought that too, but…" He turned the page and showed her a few verses, written in the same old language. "The curse was written down, and people started believing it, waiting for the dreaded moment in which the land would be frozen."

"Frozen?" Elsa gulped, now understanding where her father was heading.

"Here…" He handed her another book, this one written in Arendellian. "This is the translated prophecy." Hesitantly, Elsa took the book in her hands and started reading.

 _Your future is bleak_

 _Your kingdom will splinter_

 _Your land shall be cursed_

 _With unending winter._

 _With blasts of cold will come darkest arts_

 _And a ruler with a frozen heart_

 _Then all will perish in snow and ice_

 _Unless you are freed with a sword sacrifice._

"You think this is talking about me?" Elsa asked, her voice annoyed and angry. She didn't like it one bit, but not because she believed it, but because if _they_ believed it… if _the kingdom_ believed it, they'd seen her as the enemy, as a monster that they needed to kill. And that scared her, especially since the prophecy talked about a sword sacrifice.

"Well… it does say something about a ruler with a frozen heart. And you _are_ the crown princess." Her father admitted, and Elsa couldn't help feeling betrayed, even if she didn't expect much from her parents anymore.

"Adgar!" The queen reprimanded him.

"But… nothing is sure, right? It could still be only a tale." He tried to appease both his wife and his daughter, but the princess had already been hurt by his words.

"And there's something more." Her mother interfered, hoping to cheer her up a little. "The translation isn't quite right, look." She pointed to some annotations that were at the next page.

Elsa read them; the first said that the line ' _Then all will perish in snow and ice_ ' could also been interpreted as ' _Then_ she _will perish in snow and ice_ ', as there was a part of a rune that was missing. The same went for the next line, where ' _Unless you are freed with a sword sacrifice_ ' could also be read as ' _Unless_ she _is freed with a sword sacrifice_ '. Still, Elsa thought the original lines made more sense, given the context.

The second annotation talked about a knight that had discovered a wall in a cavern, covered with runes presumably written by the trolls, that talked about ice magic. Apparently if magical ice hit a living thing, depending on the place it hit, there were several possible effects; if on a limb, it would simply catch frostbite; if on the guts, the person would starve to death, no matter how much they ate; if on the head, the person would lose all their memories, unless the magic was removed… if on the heart, the person would freeze to death, and the only way to cure that was with an act of true love. The princess found this interesting, and thought they were probably the only thing good about that book.

The third annotation was similar to the second, but this time the information came from a mage that had been captured from one of the remaining savage tribes. Regarding the prophecy, he had said that ice magic was the most dangerous and difficult of all kinds to control, because if the wielder felt any extremely strong emotion, they'd be destroyed by their own powers. Elsa shivered at this. She decided not to feel anything ever again, in case this was true.

"I'm assuming the people know about this?" Elsa asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Yes, but only the original prophecy." The king clarified.

"Is that why you almost never take me out of the castle?" Elsa asked, feeling deep resentment towards them for having kept that information for so many years. The monarchs didn't answer, but their guilty faces were enough. "Is that also why you always treat me so differently?" She added with fury.

"Elsa…" Idunn started, but the princess got up and looked at them with the deadliest glare she could muster, at the same time allowing her powers to cover the table with a thin layer of frost. Her parents flinched with horror. She internally smiled at this.

"You don't see me as your daughter. Only the monster of a prophecy that will destroy your kingdom. You fear me, you don't love me." Elsa snarled, remembering how there had always been something hiding behind her parents indifferent stares, something dark that they didn't want to acknowledge but that they always acted upon. Deep down, they didn't want her there. They wished she had never been born. That explained why they never hugged her or kissed her, why they always punished her and never believed a single word from her; they thought she was evil by nature, a demon, a witch… a monster.

That's why they banned her powers, and that was also why they didn't like that she spent so much time with Anna. They thought she'd hurt her. She wanted to kill them, and her powers stirred at the thought, like it pleased them.

"Elsa!" Adgar was the first one to regain some composure. "I said no powers!" When the princess just kept staring at him with hatred, he got up to look more intimidating. "Thaw the table in this instant, or…"

"Or what? Are you going to kill me with a sword before I freeze the entire kingdom?" Elsa retorted, even if at the back of her mind she knew she shouldn't provoke him. Even with her magic, he was the one in power here. She didn't care though, because now all the negativity in her life made sense. She didn't know if she should just break down crying, run as far away as possible, or make them pay for the pain they'd inflicted on her.

"Elsa! That's no way to speak to your father." Idunn chastised her, but Elsa ignored her.

"I don't care. You are not my parents. You've never seen me as your daughter anyways." She snarled and turned around, starting to walk towards the door, but was soon stopped by a strong hand holding her wrist.

"You're coming to my studio." Adgar's stern voice said, giving her chills. The princess knew why he was taking her there, and she hated it; her hands would hurt for days… but she didn't have another option. If she struggled, the punishment would only be worse. Now she wished she hadn't opened her mouth.

* * *

"Elsa!" Anna's cheery voice was heard as she got into her sister's bedroom. However, she stopped dead in her tracks upon seeing her sister laying on her bed instead of getting ready for dinner. "Elsa? Are you okay?"

"…No." She admitted with a shaky voice that prompted Anna to rush to climb onto the mattress and comfort her sister. She saw she was curled into herself with her gaze lost. Her gloves had red stains.

"Elsa… what happened?" She asked concerned, as she ran a hand through her bangs, wishing to take away the pain that has marring her beautiful features.

"Anna… do you think I'm a monster?" Elsa asked instead, her eyes fixed on the cushion.

"No, why would I ever think that?" Anna asked confused.

"Do you think that I'm dangerous? That I could freeze the entire kingdom and kill innocent people?" She insisted, her voice monotonous, without feeling.

"No, of course not!" Anna quickly assured her.

"Then… why do they?" She asked with distress, this time letting a few tears fall from her eyes.

"…They?"

"But… maybe they're right, you know? I wanted to kill them. Earlier today I-I…" She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth.

"Elsa… what are you talking about?" Anna asked again, but instead of answering, Elsa looked up at her with pleading eyes.

"Anna… do you love me?"

"Yes." Anna nodded, confused as to why her sister was asking her this.

"Will you always be here for me?"

"Yes." Anna repeated.

"And… do you promise me you will never let them kill me? No matter what I do?"

"If someone tries to kill you, I'll beat them until they ask for mercy." Anna assured her with a smile, but still wondered what had made Elsa ask about such dark things. Suddenly though, she was caught by surprise when a pair of warm lips pressed against her own; they weren't playing the game like normal, but she figured Elsa needed it.

"I love you, Anna." She whispered as she gave her a hug and snuggled against her neck. "More than anything." And Anna smiled at this, not knowing just how deep the love Elsa felt for her really was.

"We should go have dinner and eat your birthday cake." Anna reminded her, thinking she was better now. She really wanted to eat cake.

"I'm not hungry." Elsa lied. She didn't feel like facing her parents so soon.

"But…"

"You go, if you want." She encouraged, knowing how much Anna liked cake.

"Really?" Anna asked separating slightly from her and giving her a disappointed stare. "You won't come?"

"I don't feel like it." Elsa kissed her cute little nose and then her temple, inhaling the comforting scent of her sister.

"Are you sure you're not sick?" Anna asked, concerned and a little worried at her sister's stranger behavior.

"Come on, go have fun." Elsa encouraged, giving her a little push towards the edge of the bed. Knowing her sister wasn't going to relent any time soon, Anna sighed and walked towards the door, even if deep down she knew something was seriously wrong with Elsa.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay, but I've been trying to finish my other fics before continuing this one. I promise the next chapter will come sooner though. Thanks for reading :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :D**


	8. The play

**Chapter 8: The play.**

Thirteen years – Nine years.

The past year hadn't been great for Elsa, that was for sure. Her parents avoided her more than ever and casted troubled glances at her during every meal. But worst of all they didn't let Anna spend as much time with her anymore. It was as if their fear towards their oldest daughter had only increased after the revelation of the prophecy.

Still, all that didn't matter because today was the first day of spring, and therefore, there was a pretty big festival in town celebrating the end of winter. And Anna wanted to go, which meant the whole royal family was now on a carriage passing through the main street of the town. They were headed towards the place where the main spectacle would take place.

Elsa was watching her sister, who was excitedly looking out of the window and pointing at things that caught her attention. They didn't get to leave the palace very often after all, and everything was new to the little redhead. The older girl knew she probably should be excited too, or at least show some interest on the festival, but… truth to be told she was only excited about being with her sister. Seeing Anna so happy and carefree... It made her heart flutter with love, unrestrained love for her sister (maybe a little _too_ unrestrained, but whatever).

"Hey Elsa! Look at the clowns! Oh, and the jugglers!" She kept saying, but Elsa only had eyes for her. "Wait… is that a lion? And there is a man spiting fire out of his mouth! Wow! Isn't it awesome?" Elsa just chuckled at her awed expression and put her arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer as she noticed their parents' discomfort at the gesture.

"Yes, it's great." Elsa agreed, though she hadn't seen a thing.

"I wished we could go out like this all the time!" Anna said hopefully as she reclined her head into her sister's shoulder.

"But we can't." Their father interrupted their happy moment. "We royals shouldn't spent too much time with the commoners. It'll make them think they're our equals." He explained, but Elsa was very aware that before she was born, the castle's gates were open and the monarchs usually attended every important event and even went to visit all the provinces at least once a year. No, the real reason was her powers, but they weren't going to tell that to Anna.

"Oh, look, we've arrived!" The queen tried to distract the youngest girl so she wouldn't feel so bad about her father's words. Anna's frown became a little pout, though at least she displayed a curious expression as she looked out of the window to the plaza were a small stage had been constructed earlier that day. It was made for some play that would take place later.

Meanwhile, there was a man telling a story with puppets. "Come on, let's go see what he's saying." She compelled the little redhead as she took her hand and descended from the vehicle. Elsa sighed and made to follow them, but was soon stopped by her father, who looked at her with a stern face.

"Elsa, I just want to remind you that you _can't_ use your powers. Now more than ever this is crucial. Do you understand?"

"Yes father." Elsa rolled her eyes. "I know." That said, she jumped out of the carriage and got to Anna's side, where her sister promptly took her hand as she pointed to the puppets and started telling her what she'd understood was going on in the story. Granted, it wasn't a great story, and Elsa wasn't paying much attention. Instead she was inspecting all the people that were posted a few feet away from the royal family. The great majority were dressed in simple clothes, peasant garb her father would have called it, and constantly casted nervous glances to the monarchs. Their sons and daughters, however, were a little bolder and were inspecting Anna with curiosity. There were even some older boys eying Elsa in a way that made her feel uncomfortable.

Finding nothing particularly interesting in the crowds the older princess started looking around at the drawings that hung from various houses around the plaza. Some pictured flowers and butterflies and other things usually associated with spring, but in others… giant snow-monsters being slaughtered by knights in shinning armors, ice-sorcerers being surrounded by armies, witches burned at a stake, magical creatures in war with humans... in brief, representations of what people thought would be the end of the troll prophecy, or so Elsa assumed. Soon she was proved right when the play started and she heard the opening song, sang by some kids from the village.

" _Winter's gone and Spring is springing_

 _Shines the sun with warmth of old_

 _Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Chapel bells are ringing!_

 _We're done with being cold_

 _Flowers a-bloom with odors pleasant,_

 _All of Arendelle is glad!_

 _Mother Earth, we thank you for the presents!_

 _Spring's good and Winter's bad."_

Elsa clenched her teeth at the lyrics. She didn't like one bit that the kids were taught since a very young age that everything cold was bad, because that put her in danger. They'd automatically hate her if they knew about her powers. Anna seemed to notice her distress because she squeezed her hand reassuringly and casted her a smile. Elsa forced herself to return the smile, but what she heard next didn't do much good to her already anxious state.

" _We celebrate spring,_

 _We know once it's here,_

 _The ancient troll prophecy_

 _Won't come to pass this year."_

" _What is this prophecy?_

 _What did it say?_

 _Well, that is the subject_

 _Of our little play!"_

That said, other kids entered and started making a little representation of the war Arendelle's founders had made against the magical creatures, especially the trolls, ending with the prophecy made by the oldest one. This alone wouldn't have provoked such a big reaction from Elsa, but then they started making a representation of how could the end of the prophecy be. It began with a powerful sorcerer freezing the land, followed by a cruel war between humans and snow creatures, and ending with the severing of the sorcerer's head with a sword. It didn't take a lot of imagination for Elsa to see herself there. Getting killed because of her magic while everyone in the kingdom clapped and cheered… including Anna.

Of course, Elsa knew Anna was only clapping because the play was ending, and the sorcerer was evil, so it was a good thing he died, but… it was all too easy to imagine otherwise. What if someday Anna saw her as evil? What if there really was a war between her and her kingdom? Would she take her side or would she cheer when they killed her? She didn't want to think bad of her sister, but just seeing her like that, acting like everyone else in town… It scared her, and that angered her.

Suddenly a cracking sound was heard, and when Elsa looked down to search the source of it she saw ice. Rapidly spreading ice. Uncontrollable, dangerous, threatening ice in the first day of spring.

Multiple gasps were heard and she noticed as people started looking at her in horror and surprise, while others started whispering about the rumors being true. Many apparently just wanted to kill her. Her parents, on the other hand, were disappointed and Anna was confused. She wanted to stop it, to make the magic disappear, but it was for naught and soon it was even snowing.

"She's a witch! Kill her!" A boy, probably no much older than Elsa herself suddenly exclaimed what many in the crowd were undoubtedly thinking, and before the guards could do anything, he lunged for her, aiming to grab her neck and strangle her.

She instinctively raised her hands to stop him and accidently released her magic at the same time. It penetrated into his stomach and he fell to the ground. Slowly part of his hair turned white and his skin acquired a pale tone as he started to shiver violently. Many rushed towards him, but Elsa didn't stay to see what happened; she ran for her life.

She didn't know if someone would actually kill her in front of her parents and the royal guards, especially since she'd just demonstrated she could be very dangerous, but she was scared and she didn't want to take any chances. So she ran as fast as she could and didn't stop until she was inside the palace, in her room.

* * *

"Elsa! Open up! Elsa you hear me?! If you don't open in this very instant I will…!" Elsa covered her ears with the cushion in an attempt to stop hearing her parents' angry voices demanding her to come out. It'd been hours, but she didn't intend to come out of her room until they'd calmed down. She was going to be punished, that much was clear, but she preferred to face said punishment once they weren't fuming like savage beasts. She knew she had screwed up, and she knew that even now that the snow was gone, the temperature still hadn't gone back to normal… but she couldn't control it. Each passing day she had less and less control over her powers.

She remembered how she had accidentally hit that boy with her magic, and how his hair had turned white. She wondered what had happened to him, and… she knew she wished he had died. He'd attempted to kill her so it was just fair that she killed him in return, right? That's what he deserved. Her life was worth more than his after all; she was a princess, heir to the throne, a powerful sorceress that could curse the entire kingdom to eternal winter, and so she had the right to kill him. She had the right to kill anyone who threatened her, didn't she?

Her thoughts scared her. She wanted to strip them out of her head, she knew they were bad, but… did that mean she was bad? She was evil? Maybe she was the prophecy after all. Or not? She didn't want to think so. She didn't want to start believing it, because if she thought of herself as evil, then why would anyone else think otherwise? So she tried to ignore those awful thoughts, ignore the images of death and destruction that kept appearing in her head, but after a few hours (or minutes?) she still hadn't succeed.

Frustrated, she threw the cushion to the other side of the room, regretting it a second later when she heard knocks on her door. She closed her eyes preparing to hear her parents' berating voices, but instead she heard Anna's sweet and comforting one.

"Elsa? Are you in there?" She didn't dare answer in case their parents were close by, waiting of her to open the door, but the younger girl continued anyways. "Uhm… okay." She sighed at the lack of response. "Our parents told me about the prophecy and how they believe it's talking about you." Elsa tensed at this, knowing that if her sister believed so too, then there was no way she could escape such destiny. "But I don't think so." She continued, surprising Elsa. "You're sweet and kind and… yeah, you may have crazy ice-powers, but they're not dangerous; they're beautiful! I don't think you're some evil sorceress like everyone else said you were." She paused, thinking. "Well… earlier you did hit a boy with your powers, but in your defense he was trying to hurt you. Plus, nothing happened except a slight change in the color of his hair, so… no, you're not evil. I'm sure of it, and I won't rest until everyone else sees this too." She added trying to appear cheerful, but obviously disappointed by her sister's silence. "So, uhm… I guess I'll see you tomorrow? Rest well sis. I love you." That said, Anna started walking away from the door, but Elsa couldn't just let her leave like that, not after her kind words had assured her and warmed her frozen heart. She had to _at least_ say something.

"I love you too." She said, smiling when the paces stopped indicating her sister had heard. "You don't know how much I love you." She added with soft voice so she wouldn't hear her. She couldn't tell her that yet, not until she deciphered exactly how much she loved her and what kind of love that was, but she knew she loved her quite a lot. After all, Anna was the only one she loved… more so, she was the only one who loved her and had faith in her.

Elsa then decided that she would never become an evil sorceress… but only because she didn't want to disappoint Anna. As long as Anna believed in her, she would be good. She had to be.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the delay. I hope you liked this chapter, and if you did please leave a review. The next one will come sooner, I promise. See you :D**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	9. Princesses are better than princes

**Book 2: Teenage.**

 **Chapter 9: Princesses are better than princes.**

Thirteen years - Ten years.

"Elsa!" Anna said excitedly as she saw her sister walking down the hall. The older girl stopped and turned around giving her a little smile.

"Hey Anna." She answered, a tired expression clear on her face. She had just finished one of her most boring classes after all; history.

"Elsa, our parents want to speak with us." She informed her like it was a good thing, even though for Elsa it normally wasn't. "Come on!" She exclaimed taking her hand and leading her to the opposite direction of where she was going as she looked towards her room with a longing expression. Really, all she wanted was to lay down and do nothing.

Soon they arrived to their parents' study, and Anna barged in without knocking first, dragging Elsa with her. As soon as the girls entered, the monarchs' eyes landed on them... Or rather, on Anna; they didn't pay much attention to Elsa anymore. They mostly ignored her until she did something wrong and then they'd punish her. Elsa really hated them now.

"Anna. You came fast." The King commented as he tore his gaze off the papers he was reading. "And you brought your sister. Good." He said, eying the older girl for a moment.

"She said you wanted to speak to us?" Elsa asked, curious as to why they wanted to see them both. Maybe they were in trouble.

"Yes." He started but then gazed at his wife, who took the hint and, turning to their daughters, started talking.

"You see... You've grown up lately and soon enough you won't be little girls anymore; you'll be women, and as such you'll need a husband to take care of you."

 _Oh no, please, I was hoping this talk would still be avoided for at least three more years!_

"We've been receiving many requests as of late." The Queen continued. "Mostly from foreign princes, but also from some nobles, and I was hoping we could arrange a date for you to meet them all."

Elsa sighed at this. She didn't like princes; they were arrogant and thought they could do anything they wanted... Much like herself actually, and maybe that's why she disliked them. She preferred people like Anna: warmhearted, kind, funny and naive. But of course, she couldn't marry her own sister, as much as she wanted to.

"We hope you'll choose the best candidate." She finished with a smile.

"Wait. You mean I'll be able to meet multiple princes? And chose one to be my husband?" Anna asked with a hopeful expression, making her mother laugh and nod. "Yay! Just like in the fairytales!" She exclaimed, giggling and bouncing excitedly.

Elsa only rolled her eyes at her antics, but in her chest she felt a powerful sensation, like anger and pain and... _hate_ towards those princes that would steal away her all-too-willingly sister. She wouldn't let them; Anna was _hers_. They'd kissed! They'd slept in each other's arms! They'd said 'I love you' more times that she could count. She had seen Anna grow up ever since she had been born. She had more right to be with her than any of those princes!

"Elsa!" Her father's voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she realized it had started to snow inside the studio.

"Sorry." She sighed but didn't even tried to stop it. It was useless.

"I don't want this happening when you meet them, you hear me?!" He chastised her. "It was very difficult to find someone who would want their son marrying a witch." Anna frowned at the use of the word, but didn't say anything. "More so after what happened to that boy. I won't let you ruin it."

"I thought his hair had just turned white." Anna commented.

"At first that's what happened." He agreed, sighing. "But he died a few days ago, some say because of Elsa's magic… though fortunately there's no proof."

"He… died?" Anna looked completely horrified at the news, and Elsa… she didn't know how to feel. She felt bad, of course; she didn't want to be a murderer. What was worse was that she knew this only confirmed she was evil to her parents and the people of Arendelle. But she was intrigued. She was curious. If her magic had only penetrated his stomach, then how had he died? And why had he perished several months after the incident? Had he slowly starved to death as the book about the prophecy said? It was possible… maybe she'd have to conduct experiments later?

"Adgar!" The Queen chastised him. "We shouldn't tell this to the girls!"

"Elsa needs to know her crime." He retorted. "So she can make sure it won't happen again." He eyed Elsa in a threatening way and for a second she wanted to scare him a bit with her ice, but… yeah, probably not a good idea.

"Yes father." She forced herself to say and he nodded approvingly.

"Good." The Queen said. "Now you can go play or something. We'll send letters to the suitors and arrange a meeting as soon as possible."

"Alright. Thanks mom!" Anna said hurriedly before taking Elsa and running out with her, not stopping until they both reached her room. Anna shut the door behind them before turning to Elsa and looking at her intensely.

"What?" Elsa asked, wondering why her sister was looking at her like that.

"You killed him." She stated, completely shocked about it.

"That's why you dragged me here in such a hurry? To talk about some random boy that may or may not have died because of my powers?" Elsa asked, trying to make it seem like it was not such a big deal as Anna was making it be.

"Elsa… murder is a serious thing." Anna tried to make her understand, but the older girl just thought she looked cute when she was frowning like that.

"I understand, but I didn't _murder_ him; it was an accident. Plus, he tried to kill me first, so I guess we're even." She shrugged.

"He had no chance of killing you and you know it." Anna chastised her, crossing her arms over her chest.

"And I had no intention to kill him but I did it. That's how life is." Elsa argued, feeling uncomfortable about the way Anna was looking at her. She looked angry… disappointed. Elsa didn't like that look. It made her want to apologize.

"Elsa please… don't you at least feel some remorse?" She asked with a pleading expression, refusing to believe her sister really was as evil and cold-hearted as their parents made her to be. Seeing this, Elsa's gaze softened.

"Of course." She replied honestly, but not because she lamented the boy's death; she felt remorse for having disappointed her sister. "I wish I hadn't killed him, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I don't see why should I worry about it."

"Oh." Anna seemed a bit confused by her answer for a moment, but then she nodded and smiled. "I understand. You've always seen things differently after all."

"That's right. Now… how about he stop talking about this this and address a more cheerful topic?" Elsa tried to distract her.

"Oh! Okay, how about we talk about the princes?" Anna said excitedly, her eyes brightening up at this. Elsa groaned.

"The princes? They are just jerks who want to ascend the throne or get a wife that pops out heirs ever year." She made a face of disgust.

"That's not true! In all the fairytales they're tall and handsome and gentle!" Anna protested. "With them the princesses like us find true love and live happily ever after."

"I don't need a prince to live happily ever after." Elsa retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I only need you." She added, which made a goofy smile appear on her sister's face.

"Oh, Elsa, that's so sweet!" She giggled as she hugged her, to which she responded hugging her back as a big smile of her own appeared on her face. "But… I won't be with you forever." Anna's words were like a rusted dagger piercing Elsa's heart, and they hurt just as much.

"W-what do you mean?" The older girl asked separating herself slightly from Anna, looking st her with surprise, not wanting to believe she'd heard it right.

"I mean that I'll soon find my Prince Charming, and I'll marry him, so I won't be able to be with you all the time." She said innocently, still smiling. It made Elsa angry. Was she really thinking about leaving her for some jerk she hadn't even met yet? They'd promised they'd always be there for each other!

"Fairy tales are not real, Anna." Elsa snapped. "Princes are only interested in titles and fortunes. They are more muscles than brain, you'll see!" She warned her before storming out of the room murmuring under her breath. "I'm better than any of them."

Suddenly she stopped as an idea came to her mind. Yes, she was better than those princes, and she'd make Anna see it too. She'd court her and win her heart. She couldn't let her marry some brute that would only see her as a trophy. She couldn't leave her sister to such an awful fate.

* * *

 **A/N: So… as you've probably already noticed, this is the end of book 1 and the beginning of book 2. From now on things will get a little dark, rating will change and Elsa's feelings towards Anna will be more obvious. Thanks for reading and I hope you leave a review and/or favorite/follow. See you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher3.**


	10. Courting

**Chapter 10: Courting.**

Fourteen years – Eleven years.

Elsa rolled her eyes for the tenth time when Prince whatever-his-name-was yet again tried to impress her by naming the number of some expensive thing they had in his palace (like Elsa didn't know his kingdom was close to being bankrupt and desperately needed a trade alliance with Arendelle). They were casually strolling through the halls, but the elder princess really wanted to be anywhere else. Preferably in her room, watching how her experiments were going.

Yes, she had conducted some experiments with her powers, and kept them concealed in a chest to which only she had the key (it was normally filled with jewels and fine clothing, but Elsa couldn't care less about all that junk). Her first experiment was to test how long her ice could last without melting. She soon discovered ice created by her powers melted at the same time as regular ice, but if she cooled down the space around her ice, it could last for days or maybe even weeks. She also experimented with the physical properties of her powers, seeking to create the hardest ice she could. The results were impressive; her best efforts could easily compete with steel when she attacked a set of castle-forged armor and her sword didn't crack even under repeated blows.

However, the other experiments weren't as innocent.

She wanted to test what she'd read in the book, and so she had captured a bunch of mice with an ice trap and experimented on them. She froze the limbs of the first one and it quickly got frostbite. Upon further testing she discovered that by applying the proper amount of force she could easily shatter the frozen limbs to pieces, and yet no blood would be spilled.

She then froze the organs of the second mouse. She fed it well but despite her best efforts it seemed to be getting smaller and weaker with each passing day, as though food couldn't satiate it. The results were just like the book had predicted.

When it came to the third mouse, she did something worse, but much more merciful; she froze it's heart, and as expected it's fur first turned white and then it turned into ice, like she had made an ice replica of the original animal. Despite she tried all that came to her mind, the mouse would not shatter and no fire could melt it.

As for the forth mouse… well, that one was more complicated, because she had frozen its head. It was difficult to determine if it had memory loss, but she was still trying to find out anyways. That's why she wanted to go to her room.

But then again, she wanted to see Anna too… Wait. No. Scratch that. She definitely didn't want to see her naïve little sister. Lately all she did was swoon over the multiple princes and nobles courting her, most of them at least a few years older than her. She talked all day about how amazing they were, how handsome, how charming! Elsa wanted to throw up every time she heard her. She just didn't understand how she could like those brutes instead of her.

"Princess?" The prince snapped her out of her thoughts, and she looked at him briefly only to discover he was shivering, almost violently so. She sighed, waved her hand and the temperature rose to normal.

"Sorry." Elsa threw out an apology just because she didn't want to get in trouble for being rude, not because she was truly sorry. If it were up to her, she'd turn all those suitors into ice-statues.

"It's okay. Now, as I was saying, I have five horses of my own and…"

Elsa tuned him out again as they continued to walk. She almost missed her etiquette classes… almost. At least he was the last of five, so she wouldn't have to deal with them until the night of the ball. Anna, on the other hand, despite being the youngest, had a mind numbing fifteen suitors. And to Elsa's despair, she seemed to like them all… well, maybe except that man who was like twenty. Oh, how she wished she could freeze them!

In that moment they arrived to the balcony and positioned themselves there to look over the beautiful gardens of the palace, while the prince kept talking about himself. Elsa leaned on the banister and rested her chin on her hand, watching it all with a bored expression… that is, until she spotted Anna under a tree, giggling as she talked to some blonde boy, probably one of her suitors. Her cheeks were bright red (Elsa hoped because of the heat of the sun) and her eyes were shining with affection for that stranger.

The older girl frowned and gripped the rail tightly until it started to crack with newly formed frost. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, but it was for naught. She was very angry, not just at her sister for being so naïve and quick to give her love to anyone, but also with all those suitors attempting to take Anna away from her. But she wouldn't allow it. Oh no. She wouldn't give up on her that easily. After all, Anna was rightfully hers.

"Princess where are you going?" The prince tried to chase after her when Elsa started walking furiously towards her room.

"I'm feeling a bit undisposed. I'm sorry." She said curtly and hurried towards her destination. She had to prepare herself, even if the ball was still a few days away, she needed to plan her move carefully.

* * *

"A… masquerade?" The king asked raising an eyebrow at his daughter, who had suddenly become interested in the suitor's ball.

"It could be fun." Elsa shrugged. "Plus, I think it would allow me… _us_ , Anna and I, to evaluate better the suitors' personalities without being distracted by their looks."

"I guess that could be true." The king agreed, to Elsa's surprise. "But it being such short notice… I don't know." He shook his head and the princess feared she had lost her opportunity. Thankfully the queen intervened, putting a hand on her husband's shoulder.

"I think it _is_ a wonderful idea, dear." She said, figuring it was a good signal her daughter was finally taking some interest in this whole courting process. Perhaps she actually liked one of the suitors. "And we still have three days to plan it, so maybe if the staff works a little harder we could make the needed adjustments just in time."

"Okay." He sighed. "I guess we _could_ make it work." At this, Elsa smiled, but then his gaze turned strict. " _But_ you'll have to put in some effort and start being nice to your suitors."

"I will, thank you father." She promised and, making a little courtesy, got out of the king's studio and grinned as she went to get all she needed for her plan.

* * *

"… So I told him that his hair was so soft it could be a girl's hair, and he got all red in embarrassment." Anna giggled as she recounted her day to her sister. Her heavily occupied sister, who was trying to concentrate on the legal records she was pouring over. It was a necessary distraction, otherwise she might decide to search for the prince and freeze his ass.

"And then we went to feed the ducks and he started telling me about his reindeer, Sven, and he said reindeers are better than people." She paused, placing a finger under her chin as she thought about something.

"But they certainly don't smell better than people. Because he introduced me to Sven later and he smelled pretty awful." She made a face of disgust. "Still, I think Kristoff is very nice, and I'll probably choose him."

"You said the same about Erik." Elsa rolled her eyes. "And Leo. And Alexander. And Hans."

"Well… Erik has pretty eyes. And he's very chivalrous." The younger girl answered. "And Leo has a good heart, he's so sweet! And Alexander makes the best jokes and always makes me laugh!" She giggled, remembering said boy. "And Hans… Hans is probably the best after Kristoff. He's tall, and handsome, and has dreamy eyes and a beautiful smile! And his voice is soooo enchanting!" She sighed dreamily as she remembered each prince, much to Elsa's anger and frustration.

"How enchanting can the voice of a boy be?" Elsa retorted with clear irritation.

" _Very_." The younger girl responded with a frown on her face. "Come on, don't tell me you don't like any of your suitors!"

"Not at all." She answered honestly.

"But… how could you not?! I mean, I've seen your princes and they all are pretty handsome."

"How can _you_ like your princes?!" Elsa answered, getting up and looking at her sister with fury. "They are all jerks who just want to use you for your title!"

"They're not! They are all wonderful, and no matter who I choose I'm sure I'll live happily ever after with him." She said stubbornly as she sat up and crossed her arms over her chest while Elsa sighed internally. This must have been the tenth time they'd had this fight in the last week.

"You will not, you idiot! You won't get your happy ending if you choose any of those assholes! They are ambitious, and selfish and have microscopic brains!"

"That's not true!" Anna yelled as tears started to appear on her eyes and her face turned red in anger. "You only say that because you're jealous!" A hiccup interrupted her, but she kept going. "B-because mamma said that when you meet your prince, your life will change forever and you will be truly happy. But you'll never be happy if you keep being so mean and stubborn!" She immediately got up and walked furiously out of her sister's room, tears forming at the corners of her eyes.

"She said that, huh?" Elsa mused out loud, not even a little impressed by Anna's outburst. "Well, my dear sister, _I_ know better, and I will prove it to you. Neither of us will be happy if we're not together."

* * *

Anna was at the ball. She was wearing her finest dress, a floor-length, forest green gown made especially for the occasion, and a mask with green feathers that covered part of her face. Truth to be told, she was enjoying the evening quite a lot, and had to admit Elsa's idea of making it a masquerade was pretty exciting. It forced her to guess who was behind the mask. Though, normally it would be easy to distinguish between her suitors' varied accents and tones, but her situation was made very difficult due to the orchestra playing just a few feet away.

It was during one of her brief lulls in conversation, when she was getting some chilled punch, that Anna thought about Elsa. She had been acting weird lately, like she was up to something, which wasn't usually a good thing. Sure, Anna herself sometimes got in trouble, but not for the more dangerous reasons Elsa did. Anyways, she hoped for her own good that the older princess wasn't planning anything reckless. Especially if whatever she was planning could potentially ruin the wonderful night she was having.

"Anna." Her father pulled her out of her thoughts just as she was stuffing her face with chocolate to alleviate her anxiousness at having to interact with so many people she didn't want to disappoint. She swallowed and gave him an apologetic smile, but apparently he wasn't there to chastise her about her manners. "Have you seen your sister?"

"Not really." The redhead shrugged. "Lost her in the crowd about an hour ago."

"Did you see what she was doing?" He asked, apparently fearing the worst.

"I think trying to escape from one of her suitors."

"I see." He sighed. "Well, I'll keep searching. Tell me if you see her."

"I will." Anna promised with one of her enchanting smiles.

"Thank you." He nodded at her and then left. Anna sighed in relief; he hadn't noticed she had her hands covered in chocolate. The princess was about to go clean her hands, when suddenly a tall figure (at least tall compared to her) blocked her path.

"Uhm… excuse me…" Anna was about to ask the stranger to let her move when he looked down at her from behind his blue and silver mask before making a graceful bow. He gently grasped her chocolate covered hand and kissed the back of it, much to Anna's embarrassment.

"Ah, princess Anna. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier, but the crowds kept me from reaching you." He said, now looking down at her, his black hat's single white feather blocking the light of the chandelier. His voice was high-pitched for a man, and his height was not quite what you'd expect of an adult. That combined with his thin body made Anna assume he must have been about her age. One of her suitors, probably, but… she was pretty sure she'd already talked with all fifteen of them… unless this one was new.

"I-it's fine. Don't worry." She assured him with a little grin, and internally cursed herself for stuttering, but she couldn't help it; she always got nervous when she talked with a prince, especially when they were as close as in that moment.

"You look quite beautiful in that dress, you know? But you look even more beautiful without the mask." He said with a coy smile and a confident tone that made Anna's legs weaken.

"Thank…thank you." She smiled nervously as she pulled a strand of hair behind her ear. "I wish I could say the same, but honestly I have no idea who you are." Anna said, trying to decipher the identity of this suitor.

"It's better that way." He shrugged, much to Anna's disappointment. "At least for now."

"Does that mean you will tell me at some point who you are?" She tried again.

"Maybe. If you dance with me." He answered, extending a hand at her and pointing towards the dance floor with his head. Anna wanted to accept more than anything, but…

"I-I… I have chocolate on my hands." She admitted blushing.

"And your lips too." The prince chuckled before reaching with his hand and wiping it from a corner of Anna's mouth, coming so close that butterflies appeared on the princess stomach and she felt like she'd faint. "There, all cleaned." He smiled triumphantly.

"But my hands…"

"Use my handkerchief." He said, handing her said item as he spoke. She eyed at it for a moment before starting to clean her hands with it. Normally the name was embroidered, but in this case it only had two letters: E and A. Maybe the stranger was Erik then? No; he was way taller. Who then? Well, she'd soon find out, even if she had to rip his mask off with her bare hands.

Once she'd finished, she returned the handkerchief to the prince and let herself be led to the dance floor. There, under the bright light of the chandeliers, she could appreciate him better. He was dressed in a bright blue suit jacket; elegant and soft, it sparkled and shone in a way she had never seen before. His pants were a deeper blue, reminiscent of the night sky, and his vest was of an icy blue so light it almost looked white. But the difference was obvious when contrasted against his shirt and shoes; pale and shimmering, they were clean and pure like freshly fallen snow.

"You're staring, princess." He teased her with a smug smirk.

"S-shut up." She blushed, deviating her gaze. "Princesses don't stare."

"Sure they do." He contradicted her as he took her left hand with his right one and placed the other one on her waist, pulling her close and making Anna's breath hitch. "Do you know how to dance, princess?"

"All princesses do." She answered, glaring at him.

"That's true, but I've heard you are quite clumsy." He teased again.

"Hey! That's rude!" She pouted, even though she knew his words to be true, but he just laughed good-naturally.

"I was just joking. Truth to be told, I'm not very good at dancing myself." He admitted, which made Anna smile at him, after all, he was the first one of her suitors who admitted he was anything less than perfect. "So, I apologize in advance if I step on your feet." He joked.

"You better not." Anna chuckled as they started dancing. True to his word, it was a bit awkward at first, like he didn't know how to lead. He was constantly looking at his feet and readjusting himself to the pace of the song, so Anna tried to put him at ease. "Hey. Just relax, when I chose my fiancé it won't be based on how well he dances."

"I-I'm sorry." He blushed, finally looking up at her eyes. "I just really want to impress you. I like you a lot."

"Well, I'm certainly flattered." Anna answered honestly. "You do seem like a very nice guy, but I feel like I don't know much about you, why don't you tell me?"

"There's not much to tell." He said, much to Anna's surprise. "I'd rather hear about you."

"Me? But I'm just… _me_. I mean…"

"Please, don't try being modest. You seem like a very interesting person." He interrupted her. "Just tell me about yourself, what you do normally, the people you interact with… all of those little details." Anna eyed him for a moment, trying to discern why he would ask such odd things, things no one had ever asked her before. But really, his genuine interest warmed Anna's heart, making her want to trust him with all she was.

"Well… normally most of my day consists of attending my various classes, preparing me to be a queen or a princess someday."

"Queen? I thought you were only second in line to the throne."

"Yeah, but…" She was about to say something, but bit her lip and said something else instead. "In case I marry a king from another kingdom."

"I see…" He said, apparently wanting to ask more, but changing his mind at the last second so he wouldn't upset her. "And you like those classes?"

"Not really. But it's my duty to the kingdom." Anna shrugged. "The worse one is definitely maths though." She made a face.

"That is blasphemy!" He exclaimed looking almost offended.

"Don't tell me you like math!" Anna retorted, and when he nodded she exclaimed jokingly: "And here I was thinking you were perfect!"

"Math is perfection, my princess." He smirked.

"Oh, shush you." She slapped his arm in a playful way, making him laugh.

* * *

And so they continued dancing and talking until the song ended and he convinced her to walk a little around the gardens, where he took a flower and placed it on her hair, making her feel like she'd faint at his closeness. Then they talked as he guided her around in a way only a gentleman could, and Anna had to admit she was impressed he didn't get lost (she herself sometimes got lost in the huge palace). At the end they arrived to a secluded place; a small garden area surrounding a beautiful fountain while fireflies fluttered here and there. It was beautiful, and Anna found herself sighing at the sight, thinking it was very romantic; probably the perfect spot for a first kiss.

She blushed at the last thought, but now that she thought about it, she really liked the company of this prince. He was so nice, and gentle, and always showed more interest on her than any of the others. Plus, he didn't judge her when she got chocolate on her hands and face, or when she tripled ungracefully over a rock, or when she snorted when she laughed. More so, he seemed to smile fondly at her when she did any of those things, like he loved her imperfections. It didn't make sense, but Anna liked it. She liked being loved for who she was, and this stranger seemed to be able to do that for her and more, plus he seemed handsome enough, and he was obviously around her age. She couldn't think of a better candidate for her first kiss, nor a better night; the night of her ball.

"What are you thinking, my princess?" He asked suddenly, startling her a little and making her blush at how he called her 'his' princess.

"Nothing. Just that this is a beautiful night."

"Not as beautiful as you." He said honestly, brushing a strand of hair behind Anna's ear, making her heart skip a beat.

"Y-you mean it?" She asked with hope, looking up in his blue eyes, trying to find some hesitance, but she didn't find any.

"Of course." He answered, and when his lips moved, Anna could help but place her eyes on them trying to discern what they would feel like on her own, but she suddenly felt nervous. Could she do it? Was it even proper for a princess to initiate the kiss? And what if he didn't like it? What if her breath stank? What if…

"You want to kiss me." The prince said smugly, making Anna's eyes widen.

"I-I don't." She tried to deny it, but her blush betrayed her.

"Go ahead." He encouraged.

"I'm nervous." She admitted shyly. "I haven't done this before."

"You haven't?" He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Well… I have, but with my sister. It was a game though, so it doesn't count." She said, blushing even more and feeling more nervous at each passing second, her body tense in anticipation.

"Well… then this one _will_ count." He replied as he placed both of his hands around her waist, pulling her closer in a way that made Anna's heart beat so fast she thought it'd burst out of her chest. Somehow she still managed to hesitantly bring her arms up and around his neck before looking at his eyes. "Just relax." He instructed before slowly starting to lean in, closing his eyes. Gulping, Anna closed her eyes too and waited for the moment their lips would meet.

And suddenly she felt it. The kiss. Her first _real_ kiss with a _real_ prince. His lips were gentle on her own, yet firm. They were cold, but not unpleasantly so… much like Elsa's actually, and the loving sigh he let out when they kissed was so real that Anna felt her heart might explode with joy. This was a true love's kiss, there was no doubt about it, and so Anna decided she wanted to marry this prince, have kids with him and live happily ever after together, like in fairy tales. That's all she wished for.

When the kiss finally ended, Anna looked at his eyes lovingly and said, with all the feel she could muster:

"I love you."

"I love you too." He replied without missing a beat, so confident about it, like he had been saying it all his life. It made Anna's chest fill with joy.

"Will you tell me now who you are?" She asked. "Please?"

"Okay…" He said hesitantly before taking off his hat to reveal a patch of black hair, which was odd considering none of Anna's suitors had black hair. All was clear though when he removed his mask and revealed the shocking truth.

"You…!" Anna gasped in horror when she saw her sister's face, instead of that one of a handsome prince.

"Surprise." Elsa smiled awkwardly, hoping Anna would take this well enough.

"How did you…? I mean… you were… the prince…" Anna stuttered, definitely in shock, and feeling betrayed. "Why?!" She almost screamed as tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "To prove your point? To keep me from marrying a prince? So that I would always be with you?!" She paused, trying to swallow the knot on her throat and glaring at Elsa, wanting to communicate all the negative things she was feeling with one single stare.

"Well, let me tell you something, this is not how it works! Sisters can't always be together. Each one of us has to make her own life, and if you can't, then stop interfering in mine!" She yelled, angry because Elsa had just ruined her special night _and_ her first kiss. She felt frustrated and disappointed for having been fooled, and she wanted to cry. She never imagined Elsa could do such a mean thing to her.

"Anna, it wasn't like that…" Elsa tried to explain as she went to grab Anna's hands, but the younger princess stepped back and glared at her.

"I hate you!" She yelled before turning around and running away while wiping her tears, as her heart shattered into pieces in her chest. She had just fallen in love with a prince who didn't even exist, and it was all his sister's fault.

Elsa, on the other hand, just stayed there, looking at the retreating form of her sister trying to contain her own tears, because her plan hadn't worked and she had just pushed her further away. Now Anna hated her, and she hated herself. She hated the suitors, and she hated her parents for bringing in said suitors. She hated the other kingdoms for wanting an alliance with Arendelle. She hated everyone!

And so the princess sank down to her knees, crying, hoping desperately she could go back in time, to when she and Anna were happy, just the two of them… together. But of course she knew things with Anna could now never be like that again, and she cried even louder, because she hadn't just lost her sister, but her best friend too. Her only friend really, and also the person she loved most in the world. Her poor heart would probably never recover from that.

* * *

 **A/N: I hope your hearts didn't break much with this… because this is not even close to how heartbreaking the others chapters will be hahahaha :D**

 **Anyways, please don't hate me, and if you liked this chapter, please review/favorite/follow, I really appreciate all the support you give me. Which reminds me, there's a new cover! So, if you want, please check it out on my DeviantArt, TaniaHylian.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	11. The nightmare begins

**Chapter 11: The nightmare begins.**

Fifteen years – Eleven years.

Several months had passed since the ball, and it was probably the single worst time period of Elsa's life so far. Even compare against all the suffering she had already endured, her life has still hit rock bottom for two very important reasons.

One, her parents had chosen one of her suitors to stay a bit longer... along with keeping five of Anna's. And two, Anna had been avoiding her like the plague. She no longer searched for her after her lessons, nor did she came to her room at night to play or talk. No, she spent every moment of her free time with her princes.

Of course Elsa had tried to talk to her about it, and Anna had said that everything would return to normal if she just apologized for the night of the ball. But Elsa refused to, on the grounds that she wasn't sorry at all. True, she regretted making her sister upset, but at least she'd kissed her. More so, she had won her heart while in disguise, something the princes were still unable to do… though it probably wouldn't be much longer before Anna fell for one of them. Still, Elsa wished to conquer her before that happened, this time as herself.

But of course, for that to happen, she needed to talk to her first. Something that's easier said than done.

"Princess Elsa!" Her suitor's voice could be heard behind her as she was walking down the hall to the dining room. Elsa rolled her eyes, but didn't stop to wait for him; she was tired of the boy. He wasn't as pretentious as the others, which was a blessing, and was smart enough to stay at arm's length at all times.

But somehow he still managed to be annoying, to a degree Elsa had been convinced was impossible. He followed her like a shadow, never leaving her alone. And worst of all he was utterly submissive and never protested when Elsa insulted him, which was no fun at all. What was his name, again? Peter? She didn't remember and didn't care. She refused to acknowledge him now that he had interrupted her scheming of a plan to win Anna's heart.

"Princess Elsa. You look quite dashing today." He said, breathless now that he had finally catch up to her.

"Save you compliments for someone who believes them." Elsa answered without looking at him. Not because she didn't believe she was beautiful, but because she knew he was only saying it as a useless attempt to win her favor.

"Yes, I will. I'm sorry, Princess Elsa." He apologized, once again taking all the fun out of mistreating him.

They kept walking side to side a bit more, but his very presence annoyed Elsa to no end, and so she stopped to yell at him.

"Do you have to follow me around all the time?!"

"I'm so-…" He started but Elsa cut him off.

"And stop apologizing, Peter!"

"Uh… it's Percival." He answered quietly.

"I don't care." Elsa muttered and continued walking, knowing full well she was being unfair with the boy, but not caring enough to apologize. After all, he never said anything to her parents about impoliteness. Plus, he deserved it, for wanting to marry her.

"M-may I ask why you're always so upset?" The boy mumbled, so quietly and fearful Elsa was barely able to hear him.

"No, you may not." She answered courtly.

"But… maybe I could help you? I swear, whatever you ask me to do, I'll do it." This gave Elsa pause. She _could_ use the boy's help after all, but… what if he expected something from this? Like a kiss? She had to make sure first.

"And why would you do that?" She asked with distrust.

"B-because I'm your servant, of course."

"I think you're confused. You're my fiancé." Elsa said, though she found the boy's answer quite intriguing.

"My father wants me to be your fiancé, but I don't deserve you." Elsa eyed him with curiosity, as she fully agreed with his words.

"Continue." The boy gulped as his eyes met Elsa's, but he kept talking anyways.

"You have magic, don't you? Magic that's said to be powerful enough to destroy the entire kingdom." Elsa tensed at this. She didn't like to be reminded of what her magic could do. Not because she cared much for the townspeople, but because she couldn't be queen without a kingdom. "Such force… isn't from this world." He continued explaining his reasoning. "You must be some kind of reincarnated goddess."

"Right." Elsa snorted at his ridiculous ideas. The boy was certainly crazy, though she hadn't noticed before because he barely talked. "Here they say I'm the witch of the troll prophecy." She added sourly.

"Well, they're wrong." He said with such conviction that it took Elsa aback. "They should be worshipping you, making altars devoted to your glory."

"You're crazy." Elsa sighed, really hoping she would never have to marry such a pathetic individual. "And to answer your first question… no, I don't want your help. Go bother someone else with your insane ideas." That said, she started running to the dining room, rolling her eyes when she noticed the prince was following her. He really was annoying.

* * *

Three days later Prince Dumbass hadn't spoken again about his crazy ideas, though his intense gaze and overly submissive attitude told Elsa he still believed those things. It was actually pretty creepy, and Elsa just couldn't wait for him to go back to his kingdom. Or to hell… preferentially to hell, along with Anna's suitors.

Anna… the sole thought of her little sister hurt more than a thousand knives. Not only because the younger girl was treating her a little coldly, or because she was spending so much time with her suitors, but because she knew it wouldn't have to be like that if only she had explained it all to her. But, of course she couldn't find an appropriate moment, as they always seemed to have company. Oh how she hated those damn suitors!

But today was the day. She had made sure no one would bother them. True, it would earn her a punishment later, but it was worth it, at least because it was a lot of fun trapping the princes in the library behind a giant wall of ice. Now, she only needed to find Anna.

And there she was, walking with that characteristic sprint in her steps and innocent smile on her face, her twin braids shinning red at the sunlight that came from the windows. That sight never failed to make Elsa's heartbeat quicken, and though she was feeling a bit nervous all the sudden, she put on a brave face and approached appearing as confident as she could.

"Hi." She said a bit awkwardly, making Anna stop just a few steps away and eye her curiously. "Uhm… I wanted to talk to you." She almost cursed herself for her lack of charm when talking, but… truth to be told she was still a bit shaken by the rejection at the ball.

"Elsa… hi." Anna said just as awkwardly. "Uh… I actually was going to meet with Kristoff, so…"

"He's busy." Elsa interrupted. "And this won't take long." She then looked at her sister with pleading eyes. "Please?"

"Well…" Anna looked to the side, apparently searching for an excuse, but she seemed to notice how important this was for her sister, so she reluctantly agreed. "Okay." Elsa smiled relieved and nodded, proceeding to lead the way to her own room. Once they were there, she opened the door and let her little sister pass, before entering herself. She shut the door and applied a bit of ice, so no one would interrupt them. Once it was all set, she invited her sister to sit at her bed as sat at her side. She hoped to appear confident, but without seeming intimidating or threatening. But seeing those teal eyes, staring so intently into her own, so innocent, so kind, full of life and curiosity, just…

"Elsa?" Anna's voice pulled her out of her contemplation. "What did you want to talk about?"

"Right!" Elsa almost jumped at the sound of her voice. "Talk… Uhm, I wanted to talk about what happened the other day. At the ball."

"You mean tricking me into thinking you were a suitor, make me fall in love and then breaking my heart?" Anna said frowning, clearly upset about all of that. It made Elsa flinch, but still, she couldn't help thinking she looked quite cute.

"It wasn't like that!" She tried to defend herself. "I didn't want to break your heart, I just…" She bit her lip, now not so sure about wanting to tell Anna the whole truth. Not when she already had five princes trying to win her heart. But she couldn't just give up without trying either.

"You just what?! Elsa, what was your plan doing that? Did you want to prove that you're better than my suitors? I know you're great, Elsa, but…"

"I love you." Elsa interrupted her angry ranting, but didn't dare to look her in the eye while saying it, fearing her reaction. "I'm in love with you, Anna."

For a few agonizing seconds nothing was heard, like the news had left the younger girl shocked and confused. Or maybe she was just angry. Or disgusted. Or… Damn, she couldn't bear the uncertainty! So she slowly looked up, seeing Anna's wide eyes. She clearly was stunned, but she also looked… confused.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, wanting to end this torture. The girl blinked a few times, looked briefly at Elsa and then finally spoke with a quiet voice.

"Uhm… I think you're confused. In love is when you love someone as in… someone you want to marry." She chuckled nervously, obviously not wanting to believe that's what Elsa had meant to say. "And of course we're sisters and we can't get married. That'd be weird."

"You know incest is common amongst royalty, right?" Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"But we're both _girls_." Anna remarked. "Girls don't marry each other. I think what you really meant was that you love me a lot, like a sister, and don't want me to marry any of the suitors, right?" She smiled nervously as she got up from the bed, apparently preparing herself to bolt out of the room at any moment. "And I mean, I get it, you love me, but… even if I get married, we will still be together. Forever. We promised, remember?" She asked innocently, and though Elsa wasn't sure she understood what she meant… her rejection was clear. She didn't want them to be more than sisters, and though it hurt her deeply, she didn't want to ruin their relationship either, so she didn't dare to pressure any further.

"Right." She forced herself to say through clenched teeth. "As sisters." She couldn't help sounding bitter. Still, Anna's smile didn't falter.

"Exactly. Sisters." She nodded, apparently glad Elsa had dropped the subject. "Now, I'm going with Kristoff. See you later." She waved goodbye and practically ran to the door, but when she got there, she noticed the handle was frozen. "Uh… Elsa?"

The older girl realized what the problem was, but she didn't solve it immediately. She wondered what would happen if she kept her sister captured. If she forced her to stay with her, to love her the way she did. If she didn't let her see the suitors, or her parents. Would she change her mind? Would she ever return her feelings?

"Elsa!" Anna's scared voice snapped her out of her dark thoughts, and she saw her ice was crawling towards her sister, already obeying the command Elsa was just fantasying about. But no, she knew she couldn't do that to the only person she truly loved, and so, as painful as it was, she shattered the ice and let her go. But once she was out, she looked at the broken pieces, and knew… her heart was just as broken.

As she started crying, she wished it was just as cold.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks to all of you who've read, reviewed, followed and/or favorited this story. I really appreciate all the support you give me :) And Iike reading what you think about the story, so if you can leave a comment that'd be great.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)**


	12. Worst Birthday Ever

**Chapter 12: Worst birthday ever.**

Sixteen years – Twelve years.

It had been almost three months since Elsa's heart was broken for a second time, and fortunately, the princes went back to their respective countries soon after. They'd be coming back to visit every few months though, and that's probably how it would be until Anna got engaged to one of them. It wouldn't happen for a few years at least, but Elsa didn't know if that was a good or bad thing.

At least her shadow (a.k.a, her fiancé) was gone as well. Oh, how she despised him! Even if he was better than Anna's suitors.

A part of Elsa thought now that they were all gone, maybe she could try and talk to Anna, apologize, get close again and pretend her heartfelt confession didn't happen… but another part, her _proud_ part, told her to just continue to pretend she was too busy to spend time with her. She'd kept up the act so far without a single slip-up.

Yes, being away from Anna was pure torture, watching her flirting with the jerks that call themselves princes was torture, spending most of her time with that stupid boy who's obsessed with her was torture, and avoiding them all by focusing on boring books and documents was torture too. But all that combined wasn't nearly as bad as being in the same room as Anna.

There was a time when her sole presence could light up Elsa's day and make her forget all her problems, but those times were long gone; ever since her confession and subsequent rejection, even looking at her was painful. Every time she saw her she just wanted to hug her, to kiss her, to have her all to herself… but that was not possible, and it just hurt to much.

Yes, Anna still loved her, and she still tried to reconnect with her every chance she could, but Elsa just pushed her away. She knew Anna would never love her as much as she did, and at the end trying to force them into a relationship would only hurt them both, so maybe it was best to let go.

Elsa was not usually one to give up on something she wanted, but she convinced herself she wanted to be an exceptional queen more than she wanted to be with Anna. So she devoted herself to her studies and decided to rid herself of all distractions, including her little sister, even if that made her miserable. But that misery was temporary, she was sure; once she was queen, she'd be happy, and she'd probably forget about her feelings for Anna by then, right? It was just a foolish infatuation. At least that's what she wanted to believe.

In that moment she was studying in her room, as usual, hoping her sister wouldn't come and try to distract her or lure her out of her room. She'd been at peace for at least four hours now, but unfortunately she knew she wouldn't get away for long. Why? Because it was her birthday, and there was no way Anna would let her spend it alone in her room, even if they were more distant now than ever before. She knew that, and so she wasn't surprised when Anna's characteristic knocks were heard on her door.

"Elsa? May I come in?" She asked in the sweetest and cutest voice possible, but Elsa still didn't give in.

"I'm busy. Go away Anna." Was her short and cold answer. Anna must have been taken aback by it, because she stayed silent for a moment, probably hurt by her sister's words, but still didn't desist.

"But then how am I going to give you your birthday hug?" She asked, still hopeful.

"I don't need a birthday hug, Anna. I need to concentrate." Elsa said, now more upset.

"Well then… do you wanna build a snowman?" Anna asked instead, not letting herself be discouraged by her sister's negative, knowing full well Elsa loved making snowmen.

"You know I can't use my powers." Elsa retorted automatically, just wanting to get rid of the young girl.

"It's winter! You don't have to use your powers silly." Anna giggled, trying to light up the mood, but she only managed to anger Elsa even more, because every time she insisted, it was more and more difficult for the older princess to refuse. But she knew she couldn't give in, because if she did, she might do something stupid like kiss Anna and that would widen the gulf between them. No, she had to stay away from her until her feelings disappeared, even if that meant hurting her to make her go away. They were sisters after all, she would forgive her in time… right?

"I don't care! I don't want to be with you. I don't even want to see you!" Elsa said with spite in her voice, even though she hated herself for doing this to Anna.

"But…" Anna's little voice trembled, but Elsa didn't give her time to protest.

"Go Away, Anna!" She repeated and, after a hesitant pause, hurried steps were heard as she made her way down the hall. Elsa sighed; this wasn't what she wanted, but what she knew needed to be done, even if now the silence was more overwhelming than ever and the sudden solitude made her want to run away. Run so far away that she collapsed. Maybe that way she wouldn't have the energy to pity and hate herself as she longed to be with Anna.

But there was nothing to do about that now. She had to study… if she actually _could_ now that Anna had disturbed her peace.

* * *

Not even fifteen minutes later (during which Elsa just reread one paragraph over and over again without understanding a word), someone knocked on her door once again, just this time it wasn't Anna.

"Elsa? Are you in there?" Came her mother's concerned voice.

"I'm here." She mumbled tiredly as she got up and walked to the door, knowing she couldn't just shut the queen out as she'd done with her sister, even if she was probably going to lecture her for her behavior. "What do you want?" She asked as she opened the door.

"May I come in?" She asked politely, though Elsa knew it really was an order, so she stepped aside to let her pass. Once she was inside, Idunn sat at Elsa's table near the balcony and look expectantly at her, obviously wanting her to join her, something the girl did reluctantly. It was always weird being with her mom; she didn't know her much as they rarely talked, so she wasn't sure if she loved her or, on the contrary, despised her as her father did, so she was always weary on her presence.

"Is… something wrong?" The princess asked when her mother just kept looking at the wintery scene outside, with an almost saddened gaze.

"You could say so." She sighed and paused before turning to look at Elsa. "You see… I have noticed you're been growing more and more distant from us."

"We've never been close to begin with." She answered in an almost accusing tone, but then realized her mistake and sighed. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're right. Your powers have kept us from treating you like our daughter, and I'm sorry about that." The queen said, and Elsa bit her lip to avoid saying what she thought; that it wasn't her powers _per_ _se_ what kept them from connecting with her, but the fear and hatred they felt, thinking she was the witch of the prophecy. "But, you know? Anna's always been there for you, and I know you two love each other very much." Elsa glared at her, not wanting to be reminded of her little sister.

"Don't push her away… she _really_ needs you." The queen pretty much pleaded, but Elsa refused to look her in the eye, instead making a grimace and looking out of the balcony, to the cold snow that only reminded her of the reason her parents had never loved her.

"Okay then." Idunn sighed when she realized Elsa wasn't going to answer her, as she got up. "I'm taking Anna to the market later, and you will come with us." Elsa's eyes immediately shot up to look at her in disbelief, but before she could protest, the queen spoke again.

"That was an order." And with those words, she left.

Elsa cursed Anna for getting their mother involved in this, now she'd have to spend the rest of the day with the two of them! Could her birthday get any worse?

* * *

They were in the carriage. Yes, the three of them; fortunately for Elsa, the King had decided to stay at the castle, saying he had duties to attend to. But her sister and mother were with her, the latter doing her best to appear as if she cared for her older daughter. But whether she did or not, Elsa wasn't believing her act one bit, not after having been ignored by the woman for her entire life. But at least she wasn't as annoying as Anna, who feigned excitement about everything and tried to get Elsa to share her enthusiasm, even though the older girl knew it was just an excuse to try and reconnect with her.

Elsa was thinking she should just make a snow storm so they would be forced to return to the palace, when the carriage came to a stop and the Queen exclaimed.

"Hey girls, we're at one of the most renowned dress shops in the kingdom! I know you'll love it, come on." Saying this, she ushered the princesses to get out before doing so herself, completely ignoring Elsa's protests.

"If you knew me at all, you'd knew I hate dresses." Elsa muttered as she was pushed into the shop, by both her sister and her mother.

"Oh, come on, dresses are pretty!" Anna protested.

"And terribly uncomfortable." Elsa pouted.

"It's not like you were going to run or do fencing or something in a dress; you only need to look beautiful and sophisticated." Idunn said, again disregarding Elsa's words, but the older girl didn't bother to retort; she knew her complaints would fall in deaf ears.

"Good morning, your majesty." A tall and thin man, dressed in fine clothes, suddenly came from the back of the shop, and stopped in front of them to make an exaggerated bow. "Welcome to my humble shop. How can I help you?"

"I'm looking for new dresses for my girls." She answered with a polite smile.

"We already have more dresses than we need." Elsa mumbled angrily, only to feel her sister's elbow digging in her ribs a second later. She glared at the younger girl, who glared back at her.

"Then you have come to the right place, your Majesty." He replied. "Just yesterday a new shipment came from France, filled with the latest fashions. They're some of the finest dresses I've seen in a long time, with sizes for all ages."

"Oh! That's fantastic!" The Queen exclaimed, truly excited about the dresses from France. "Please, do show them to us."

"Very well." He said with a pleased smile as he disappeared at the back of the shop, only to return a minute later, followed by servants carrying many bothersome looking dresses. The dresses themselves were horrifying; colorful and gaudy, each dress had a multitude of frills and colorful patterns. Exactly the sort of dresses Elsa hated the most.

"I don't like them. Let's go somewhere else." She said, already backing up to the entrance.

"Nonsense! You're going to try them all." The Queen stopped her with a stern voice and, not wanting to get in trouble, Elsa didn't dare run away. After all, she figured after a few times of refusing to choose a dress, the Queen would get tired, right?

"I. Hate. It." Elsa said for the tenth time as she looked at her mother with a murderous gaze.

"I love it!" Anna exclaimed, referring to the dress Elsa was trying on, and clapping excitedly. In that moment, her sister's angry gaze shifted towards her.

"Yes, it's very elegant and lovely. We'll take it." The Queen said, completely ignoring Elsa's opinion, as she'd done with seven equally tight and uncomfortable dresses before. Elsa let out a whine that was ignored too, before turning to look at her sister with pleading eyes, silently begging her to help her.

"It's so beautiful! I wished there was something like that for me." Anna exclaimed, too absorbed in her contemplation to notice Elsa's silent request for help. The older girl felt utterly betrayed. Also, since when did Anna care about dresses and all that girl-ly stuff? She thought she was on her side!

"There is something similar, princess, would you like to try it on?" The shop owner asked, and laughed at Anna's enthusiastic nods. "Very well, wait here."

"Mother… can we go now?" Elsa asked once the man was out of sight, already feeling exhausted from trying on new clothes that she hated and would only wear once. But the worst part was how what she wanted was being disregarded by both her mother _and_ her sister, on her birthday.

"Not yet. We've only been here for an hour after all." Idunn said, dismissing Elsa's request like it meant nothing.

"But I'm tired! A-and I don't like any of these dresses." Elsa protested, her voice trembling in anger. "I want to go. Now." She practically demanded.

"But Elsa, boys like girls with pretty dresses." Anna interfered. "If you don't dress like a lady, you won't ever get a prince to like you."

So _that_ was the reason Anna was suddenly interested in dresses, Elsa thought. It all made sense now, and it angered her more. She felt jealous knowing Anna was probably seriously considering marrying one of her jerk suitors, and that drove her crazy with anger.

"Our marriage will be arranged, you moron! The princes don't need to like you. Actually, they probably don't." She added in a bitter tone meant only to hurt Anna's feelings.

"Elsa! Why do you have to be so mean?!" Anna chastised her, obviously sick of her trying to ruin her little fantasy at every given opportunity, as tears formed in her eyes.

"I'm not being mean. It's the truth." Elsa retorted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Enough, Elsa!" the Queen shouted at the girl. "Why do you always have to be so negative and rebellious? Why you always act as if we were the enemy? As if your engagement was a punishment?"

"Because you act as if I was the enemy too!" Elsa shouted back, her powers creating a mini storm around her as they responded to her emotions. "You've done so since day one! You've never loved me!" In that moment the princess noticed angry tears were falling from her eyes, brought forth by her confession, and furiously wiped them off. "My engagement is just as excuse to get rid of me." She accused, voice laced with resentment.

"Elsa, that's not…" The queen tried to contradict her, but in that moment, the shop owner returned with the dresses, interrupting them.

"Is everything alright?" He asked unsure, and clearly afraid of Elsa's powers swirling around the store.

"And that's another thing!" Elsa continued her angry ranting, pointing at the expensive clothes. "I fucking _hate_ dresses!" As she said this, she ripped off one of the dress' sleeves.

"Elsa!" The Queen took a step towards her, trying to stop her, but the storm increased in intensity, preventing her from reaching her daughter.

"And I hate shopping!" Elsa continued, this time letting her powers tear apart the dress as she kept talking, leaving the once beautiful garment as a hoe's rags. "But you don't care! You never listen!" She continued, the storm increasing at every word, as well as her anger and hatred, now making things fly around the shop as frost started crawling up the walls.

"Elsa, please, calm down." Anna pleaded, not linking seeing her sister in such a state. She looked crazy.

"Shut up, you stupid brat! I hate you too." And with those hurtful words that she really didn't mean, she ran away, exiting the shop before she could see Anna's eyes fill with tears as a small sob came out her lips.

* * *

Elsa ran away as fast as she could, desperate to escape, to forget about everything; her family, her servants, her kingdom… but she knew she couldn't do that. If she left she'd always be a witch, and she'd be hunted and killed as such. But she was so much more than a witch; she was the heir to the throne, the crown princess, and held an incredible magic that did nothing but grow stronger every year, which probably made her the most powerful person in the world.

She wanted to be queen. No. She _needed_ to be queen, and to accomplish that, she shouldn't run, no matter how much she hated the frilly dresses they made her wear, of the etiquette classes, or the stupid princes. She would stay, there was no question about it, but right now she just wanted to be alone and pretend she wouldn't have to deal with her parents once she returned.

Finally, she collapsed in an alley near the outskirts of the city when she felt exhausted and saw no one around. After a few moments to catch her breath, she started thinking about what had just happened.

She had been impulsive, she recognized, and had kind of acted like a spoiled child, but… maybe it wasn't her fault. At least not entirely. Everything she had told her mom had been true, and that's something she'd never before admitted out loud in her life, and thought never would. The problem had been Anna.

Ever since the little redheaded princess had been born, she had been Elsa's only source of happiness; even if she sometimes accidentally got her in trouble, it was all worth it just to see her smile. And then she started loving her as more than a sister, but even though for some time it seemed like her feelings were reciprocated, her hopes were crushed now that those stupid suitors had come in play. And now they barely spoke to each other, or even _saw_ each other, which made Elsa' heart break everyday, and in turn prevented her from seeing the good in life most of the time. All was suffering and pain. And hate and anger. Love wasn't real; no, it was only an illusion.

"Hey! I've found her!" A voice sounded at the entrance of the alley, making Elsa look up to see a guy, tall and scrawny, that had obviously never had a proper bath in his life based on the stench. At his call, other two men like him appeared, and just now the princess realized she was in the poorest part of the city.

When she saw them walking towards her, Elsa got up hastily.

"What do you want?" She asked defensively, crossing her arms and frowning in what she hoped was an intimidating way.

"Nothing really." One of them shrugged. "Just to kill the ice witch that will someday doom us all if we don't stop her." Elsa would've just ignored him in any other day, but in her current state of mind her first instinct was impale him with an icicle.

"You know nothing about me, you're just a bunch of pathetic animals that couldn't tell soup from soap." She replied, trying to keep her cool, but the mini storm that had followed her from the shop picked up again, this time stronger.

"And you're just a witch pretending one day will be a leader for us. Hate to break it to you, kid: Nobody likes you!" The first one she had seen retorted, looking at her with murder in his eyes.

"You wouldn't dare touching a princess." Elsa said, rising up her hands, preparing herself to unleash her magic at a moment's notice.

"A princess? No, but a witch?" The third one smirked dangerously as he pulled out a rusty knife. "We'll do a lot more than just touch you."

The three of them ran towards her, all wielding improvised weapons, like a heavy rock and a piece of wood. Elsa's survival instincts immediately kicked in, and though she was no warrior, she knew her powers would protect her just well.

She threw a blast towards the feet of one of them and made him fall in the snow, before catching the arm of the one wielding the piece of wood and freezing his limb. The one with the rock came next, but she stepped back and pushed him to the other end of the street with a powerful blast of air and snow.

Satisfied, she was going to walk away when she noticed the guy with the knife was already up and trying to stab her. She tried to evade him, but she was too slow, and could only stifle a cry of pain as she felt the blade cut into her ribs.

Elsa was used to feel pain, that's for sure, but even for her this was too much. The wound may not have been that deep, but it was long, and the princess could already feel the blood dropping out of it. This enraged her. How could this stupid man, that wasn't more than human scum, have injured her? She was a princess, and possessed powerful magic! This shouldn't have happened! She wouldn't let him get away with it.

Elsa grabbed the man by his collar and pushed him against the wall of the nearest house, at the same time releasing her powers with as much force as she could, which, considering they were fueled by her emotions, was quite a lot.

It all happened within seconds, and so the princess wasn't able to stop it. She had only wanted to do as much harm to the man as he had done to her, but her magic had other ideas. She watched in horror as the ice spread from the man's chest to the rest of his body, freezing him solid and turning him into a living ice sculpture, with spikes protruding here and there, as he made his final silent cry, before shattering to pieces and merging with the snow, like he'd never even existed in the first place.

Eyes widening, Elsa took a step back before turning to look at the other two men, who were watching her with terrified expressions. As soon as her eyes landed on them they started running for their lives.

"Wait!" Elsa attempted to reach for them, not wanting panic to be spread throughout the kingdom for what had been, in reality, just an accident. However, she was still on edge and wasn't able to control her magic. Against her will, it shot out of her hands and enveloped the men, freezing and shattering them into pieces just like it had done with their friend.

Elsa winced as she fell to the ground, trying to process the reality of what she had just done, and ignoring the tears that were streaming down her face.

She had just killed three men; there was no denying it. And there were no witnesses either, so she would probably remain unpunished for her crime unless she told someone. And of course she didn't plan to; they'd see her as the evil witch of the prophecy, a murderous monster that had to be killed before it had a chance to attack once again… and she had to admit, after seeing what she'd just done in the span of less than a minute, that they would have a point. She _was_ dangerous. Her powers were too powerful to be controlled, especially since they were linked to emotions, mostly negative ones.

She was a murderer.

She was a monster.

She was a witch.

But she was also a princess, and one day she would be Queen. And a Queen doesn't murder her subjects. Not with crazy ice powers, at least.

She had to be strong, to forget about the incident and forgive herself. It shouldn't' be that difficult, right? They had tried to murder her, and she had just defended herself. Just like what had happened with that kid years ago. It wouldn't happen again, she repeated herself. It had been just an accident.

Except she knew, deep down, that it had not been only an accident. A part of her had felt good doing it. A part of her had wanted them dead and her powers had complied. They had acted on their own to please her darkest desires.

But the princess decided to ignore this fact and return to the caste, hoping to forget everything that had happened that day.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi! I'm sorry for my long absence, but I've just been having a lot of homework lately, you know how it is :P**

 **But I hope you liked this chapter nonetheless, and that you leave a review and let me know your thoughts about it. See you soon (I hope) :)**

 **Thanks to all of you for reading, and thanks to my beta readermoonwatcher13.**


	13. The legend

**Chapter 13: The legend.**

Sixteen years – Thirteen years.

Elsa hadn't told anyone about what happened on her birthday, though that in itself was a small miracle, considering how difficult the last six months had been. Every night her sleep was plagued by horrible nightmares; in the beginning she had been forced to relive the moment she killed those men, watching it happen over and over. But recently her dreams had changed, and now she was dreaming about herself. Her dreams told of the monster she was going to become, and the horrors she would unleash.

She saw herself as a terrible queen, who ruled over a frozen land she had cursed with eternal winter. She saw herself killing innocents for fun, slowly torturing them in ways she would have never imagined before. She also saw how they all feared her, and hated her, and tried to kill her over and over again without succeeding, but sometimes getting pretty close.

The worst dream though, was when she'd seen a frozen version of Anna. She was cold, immobile, her body no longer soft and full of life as she remembered it; it was entirely made of ice, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn't thaw her.

After that, she did everything in her power not to fall asleep, and succeeded for over a week, but the fatigue eventually caught up to her. Fortunately, the dream hadn't repeated itself since then.

It made her question whether the prophecy was true. Maybe it was not just a stupid tale someone invented to scare children, as she had originally assumed. Maybe, just maybe, the prophecy had actually been talking about her. After all, she'd killed three men without even wanting to, all in less than a minute. Just what could she do with enough time and negative emotions? Could she actually curse her own kingdom into an eternal winter? Including her little sister? Would she really become a monster? An all-powerful witch?

All those questions tormented her every waking hour, day after day. And she hated them. She didn't want to believe the prophecy was true, or that she could become the monster they all feared she was, but… even _she_ couldn't be one hundred percent sure that was impossible. More so considering the murderous thoughts she'd had been having as of lately about a certain group of princes.

Yes, they had returned. Not all at once, of course. First came Hans, and the jerk kept Anna busy all day, taking her on an endless series of dates in hopes of winning her heart. Then the other princes found out and came rushing back, each hoping for the opportunity to court the younger princess. It had been overwhelming for Anna, and she still hadn't decided who she wanted to marry. Not that there was any hurry, of course; Anna wouldn't marry until she turned eighteen, so…

But in the meantime, the princes would stay in the castle, much to Elsa's despair. She hated them and they hated her (especially after they day she trapped them in the library in order to talk with Anna). And most of them seemed to take every opportunity to make her suffer.

They told her Anna should have been queen: that her sister was beautiful, and girly, and nicer than she could ever be. They said Elsa was too rude and cold, and acted too much like a boy, which was probably why she only had one suitor. Not to mention her powers that, in their very loud opinion, made her an evil witch.

Speaking of the devil… Elsa was walking towards the dining room when she saw Hans approaching. She internally groaned, kept her gaze on the ground and hoped he'd just ignore her. But no, the prince just had to try and make some rude comment, didn't he?

"Hello, my dearest sister in law." He said in mock politeness. "How are your freakish powers today? You haven't frozen someone, have you?" He chuckled like he'd just said the most hilarious joke in the world.

"Shut up, Hans." She snarled as she bumped her shoulder against his when she passed by. At this, his laughter died.

"Hey!" He yelled as he took her arm and yanked it, making her turn towards him. Elsa just looked at his ugly face with murderous eyes, hoping she could just impale him on a giant icicle. "Pay me some respect. I'm Prince Hans of the Southern Iles." He exclaimed enraged.

"Why should I?" Elsa asked as she pulled away from his grip and managed to free her hand, seriously considering washing it until the skin turned red, just to make sure she got rid of Hans' (imaginary) filth. "I'm the Crown Princess of Arendelle, while you're just the thirteenth son of a King who's content to have a few small islands for a kingdom." She spat, matching Hans' angry gaze.

"Careful what you say, _girl_." He narrowed his eyes as he emphasized the last word. He was only four years older than Elsa, but that was enough for him to be considered a man, while she… well, she may have been the princess, and she may have been smarter and more powerful than him, but anyone would listen to Hans over her just because he was a man.

So, the proud princess of Arendelle had to contend with glaring daggers at Hans, trying to let him know how much she hated him. Once she was queen though, she'd throw him in the deepest hole in the darkest part of the dungeon she could find.

"Hey, Hans!" Someone called, making them both turn to see who it was. It was Prince Erik, who came together with the other suitors, probably also heading to the dining room. Elsa groaned. She had enough with one jerk; she didn't need four more.

"Hi, Erik. Leo. Alex. Kristoff." He acknowledged each one of them with a casual greeting. "Are you going to the dining room too?"

"Yes. What about you?" Leo asked. "You aren't making friends with the ice freak, are you?" He teased the other prince, but Hans just chuckled.

"Come on, she's so cold not even a snowman would want to befriend her." At Hans' snarky remark the other princes laughed, not noticing Elsa's scowl.

"I suppose that's true." Leo agreed. "Not even her sister wants to be near her anymore."

"A good thing too." Alex intervenes. "Otherwise we couldn't spend as much time with Anna as we do now." At this, all but Kristoff nodded in agreement, while the blond lord noticed Elsa's ice and quickly warned the others.

"Guys." He said and, having gained their attention, pointed towards the princess, who was looking at them with a murderous gaze as frost and cold spread from her figure across the hall.

It's not like Elsa actually cared about a thing the princes said about her, but she knew she deserved some respect, and she hated having to let them just make fun of her without doing anything. She wanted to teach them a lesson, maybe scare them a little… a small snowstorm perhaps? Or a giant snowball? Or…?

Suddenly, in her mind appeared an image of herself unleashing her magic straight into Hans' chest, freezing him and disintegrating him until he was nothing but a thousand ice fractals… like she had done to those men in the alley. She gasped, and tried to push the thought to the back of her mind where it belonged, but it was more difficult than she expected. A part of her wanted to do it, to kill them all and forget about them. Permanently. She'd have Anna for herself again then. She wouldn't have to worry about her getting married because no kingdom would send suitors fearing they would be killed too. It'd be almost too easy, but…

"Elsa." She heard someone call her name from behind as he placed his hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Percival standing at her side. She didn't know why she was surprised at all; _of course_ the boy would keep searching for her. She didn't know if she should be relieved or annoyed of her presence; he _had_ kept her from doing something stupid, after all. "It's time for dinner, you coming?"

Elsa was about to answer, but Hans beat her to speak.

"Well, well, look who's here: the prince from a kingdom so poor he doesn't have any option other than marrying a witch." He said with obvious contempt.

"I must ask that you don't talk about Princess Elsa like that. She's the heir to the throne of Arendelle and, as such, deserves respect from us." Percival answered, glaring at him, but as much as Elsa wanted to tell him to shut up and let her handle it, she had to admit he was rather eloquent.

"Ha! As if King Adgar was ever going to let that witch reign over this kingdom!" Erik laughed. "I bet he'll name Anna the new Crown Princess within a year." However, his laughter soon died when Hans nudged him. Elsa decided to pay their words no mind; they were just a bunch of princes hoping to one day become kings, after all.

"Whatever." Elsa rolled her eyes. "You are all just a bunch of jerks and I really do not wish to waste my time with you. Goodnight." Saying that, she turned around and walked opposite to where the dining room was, even if her empty stomach protested. She would never admit it, but their words actually stung a little. Plus she didn't want to see her sister staring longingly at all those stupid princes, because then she'd start fantasizing about their deaths again.

"Princess Elsa, wait!" Percival called out for her as he hurried up to walk at her side. Elsa suppressed a long sigh.

"You know? When I said I didn't want to waste my time with you I meant _all_ of you." She remarked, annoyed he wouldn't leave her alone.

"I-I know." He said nervously. "I just thought I could be of help."

"I don't think so." Elsa replied without missing a beat.

"Really? Because you were about to kill them back there." His words made the princess stop dead in her tracks and stare at him, surprise evident on her face.

"N-no, I wasn't." She replied defensively. "I was just going to scare them." She tried to explain, almost to convince herself more than him.

"You're capable of more than you think. Far more" Percival said, also stopping and looking Elsa in the eyes. "Whatever you imagine, your powers will do it. And you were planning their deaths. I saw it in your eyes."

"No, I wasn't!" Elsa denied the accusations once again.

"It's okay. They deserve it." Percival answered, surprising Elsa. "No one should be allowed to insult you. You're a goddess, Elsa, you can't let them treat you like anything less." Elsa resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his crazy beliefs.

"For the tenth time, I'm _not_ a goddess." She glared at him. "And if you really think they deserve to die, then why didn't you let me kill them?"

"Because you're not ready. You lack training." His answer surprised the princess quite a whole lot. She'd expect him to say something like 'Because it's wrong'. But no… he said she wasn't prepared.

"What do you mean? I don't need training. I bet they wouldn't even see it coming if I were to impale them with my icicles." She answered rather coldly, but he only nodded.

"I know you could have easily killed the five of them without trouble, but what do you think would have happened next?" Elsa raised an eyebrow at his question, not sure what he wanted her to answer, but he continued talking. "Your parents wouldn't have taken it lightly. They would have probably order the guards to hunt you and either kill you or lock you up in a dungeon." The princess was about to protest, saying that wasn't possible, but the boy raised a hand to indicate silence.

"Now, you would probably be able to fight five, maybe even ten trained guards, but what about one hundred? One thousand? How many of them do you think are in the castle? Or in the city? Do you really think you would have been able to take them all out by yourself?"

Elsa had to bit her lip and look to the side, not wanting to admit that, indeed, she wouldn't have been able to do such a thing. But then again, she hadn't really thought about the consequences of killing Anna's suitors; it had just been a sudden urge, almost instinctual, to hurt the one ones who were the source of all (or at least most) of her problems.

"That's what I thought." Percival nodded at Elsa's silent admission. "But don't worry. I can help you."

"With what, exactly?" She answered with a doubtful expression, after all the boy appeared to be a wimp, with no especial talents except maybe annoying people.

"My guards and I can help you train, so you know how to defend yourself when the time comes." He seemed serious enough, but Elsa still doubted his words.

"And why would you do that?" She asked, cautious.

"Not here." Percival answered, looking at both sides, clearly knowing there were too many chances of being overheard. "Follow me." That said, he started walking towards the guest chambers. Elsa stayed still for a moment, wondering what she should do, after all, it's not like she had something better to do, and she _was_ curious, but… was it really worth it? Could that pathetic excuse of a prince really be helpful?

There was only one way to find out.

* * *

They arrived to the prince's room, who locked the door after Elsa entered. The princess would have been weary of this action if she didn't know she could easily overtake him if she so desired. It was probably just to keep anyone from getting in and hear what he wanted to tell her.

"Well?" Elsa asked, crossing her arms over her chest in a commanding manner.

"There is a legend." He started as he went to open his chest and started rummaging into it, apparently searching for something. "Not many people knows about it; just the ones who lived in this region before the kingdom of Arendelle existed." Those words picked Elsa's interest.

"Arendelle was habited by magical beings though, wasn't it? According to the legends?" She replied. Percival nodded.

"Yes, there were magical beings, but there were also people. And they were forced to leave their homes once the invaders came." He paused. "But they had great knowledge about magic, and some of them learned to write, and wrote a book about the prophecy." He extracted what appeared to be an old and big book out of the chest, and offered it to Elsa. " _This_ book." The princess took it (it sure was heavy), but eyed it in disbelief.

"Are you sure it's from them?" She asked skeptical.

"It's written in an old language, and it took many years for our best scholars to decipher it." Percival confirmed. "But once it was translated, the legend became common knowledge in our kingdom, though we refused to share the information with Arendelle, fearing what they would do if they found out."

"Does it really say something we don't know? I mean, we too have a book about the prophecy, you know?" Elsa commented as she opened the book and started looking through pages filled with words she couldn't understand.

"It says Arendelle was once filled with magical beings, not because it was mostly devoid of humans, but because of the magic that emanates from the northern lights." He explained. "It is said that there was once an ancient goddess, responsible for the creation of the glaciers and the cold north, but she one day decided to leave the earth… not without leaving behind a little present; magical crystals able to create the phenomenon we know as the northern lights."

"Nice story. How does it connects to me?" Elsa interrupted, impatient.

"The trolls found some of these crystals, and founded their entire civilization with the help of the divine magic they held… but once they were massacred by the Arendellians, the power of said crystals faded. At least apparently." He made a dramatic pause, eying at Elsa.

"The truth though, is that magic can't simply fade; it can move to another place, or be stored into another object, _even_ remain dormant for centuries before manifesting itself, if you know how to use it." At this, he turned a few pages of the book, before stopping at one that had a drawing depicting a rock-like creature holding a blue crystal on its hand as words were spoken out of its mouth.

"The prophecy?" Elsa asked.

"Exactly." Percival smirked. "It's not a prophecy, really. It's a spell, created by magic left behind by a goddess. Don't you understand, Elsa? You are, in one way or another, the creation of a goddess." He said enthusiastically, like he'd just told her the most amazing and useful thing ever, when really…

"The prophecy is still a bad thing for my kingdom though, no matter if it was made with divine magic." She objected.

"Why a bad thing? All the prophecy really says is that you'll be a severe ruler, that you'll freeze the land in order to keep an iron grip on your subjects."

"And then I'll be killed with a sword." Elsa deadpanned, remembering all too well that line.

"Or maybe you'll demand the people to make sacrifices in your honor, in order not to freeze them." He countered. "A prophecy can have multiple interpretations." Elsa frowned, not liking his arguments but not really knowing how to counter them either.

"I still don't see how that's a good thing for Arendelle." She decided to say.

"Not for Arendelle." He shook his head. "For _you_." Elsa raised an eyebrow. How could she be well if her kingdom wasn't?

"The inhabitants of Arendelle are just scum, descendants from those murderers that ruined the magical land created by an ancient goddess. They deserve to be punished. And you, as a creation of said goddess, have the right to implement justice, and being respected as an instrument of her divine authority." He spoke with fervor, like a religious lunatic that had his all-mighty deity standing right in front of him.

"You're crazy." Elsa said for what felt the thousandth time since she met him.

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Or maybe I'm right." He added. "My entire kingdom seems to believe in the legend, just as much as yours believes in the prophecy. It's just a matter of time before we see who's right." He took the book from her hands and closed it, before eying intently at her and making an almost sinister smirk. "But I would ask myself if I were you: do I want to be sacrificed? Or do I want others to be sacrificed in my honor?"

Elsa made a face of disgust; neither option sounded very appealing. But then again… she really didn't want to be killed by a sword. But… would she instead sacrifice others just to fulfill what the prophecy had predicted? No, there had to be another option, right?

Right?

"I have to go." She said, not wanting to talk about this anymore. She almost would have preferred going to have dinner with the jerk princes.

"As you wish." Percival shrugged. "Just think about what I said. I can help you fulfill your destiny, if you want."

"Right." Elsa grimaced. "I'm not sure I want _that_ destiny." That said, she turned around walked to the door, unlocking it and stepping outside, before pausing and turning back to look at the crazy boy from the crazy kingdom. "But… I'll think about the training." She said before she could stop herself.

It's not like she wanted to kill someone in the near future, but… if something like what had happened a few months ago in the alley repeated itself, she wanted to be able to use her powers for self-defense. She really hated not being in control, and this boy appeared to know a couple of things about magic, so…

"See you tomorrow, Elsa." He answered with a smile, before the princess closed the door without another word.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so… that legend kind of came out of nowhere haha. I hadn't originally planned it, but it just came naturally as I wrote this chapter XD.**

 **Thanks for reading, and please leave a review sharing your thought about this chapter with me. I really appreciate all the support you give me :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	14. Training

**Chapter 14: Training.**

Seventeen years – Fourteen years.

Darkness. Silence. Cold wind caressing her left cheek. Nothing.

She concentrated; there had to be more.

An owl hooted in the branches above her, and then she heard rustling sounds to her left. Finally! She took a moment to plan before opening her eyes and quickly shot an icicle to her left; hoping to hit whatever had caused that sound. A few seconds later, the rustling stopped and there was silence once more.

She slowly walked towards the source of the noise, confused by the lack of movement, to see what she had hit with her powers. A few moments later, she discovered a bloody animal with thick black fur. Her icicle had impaled it through the middle, so it was already dead. However, she did not even have time to sigh in disappointment before she heard the familiar sound of a sword being drawn from it's sheathe, and it came from right behind her.

Quickly, she turned around and raised her arms, creating a thin barricade of ice that protected her from the first impact. However, it quickly started to break at the second strike, and finally shattered with the third. Cursing, when the sword descended again she caught it with her hands, now encased in thick gloves of ice, which protected them from the blade's sharp edge. Unfortunately, her protection that did little to lessen the impact, leaving her with trembling arms and legs that threatened to give out from the force of the blow. But she held on. She held on because she _knew_ she was better than he was. She was a goddess, and he was her servant.

With that thought in mind, she let her ice encase the sword, freezing the steel until it became brittle, and twisted her hands. The blade broke in half before dropping to the ground in front of her.

Satisfied, she shot an ice blast at him, but he stepped aside before it could hit him and pulled out a dagger. Elsa almost rolled her eyes; there was no way he could take her down with a _dagger_ now that she was alerted of his presence. Instead of directly attacking him, however, she decided to coat the floor in ice when he tried to charge at her, making him slip and fall to the ground.

Smirking, the princess stepped towards him and raised her right hand, intending to release her magic and imprison him in ice. But before she could do that, he threw his dagger at her, effectively distracting her for a second, which gave him time to grasp a branch above his head and shakily rise to his feet. He was unarmed now though, or at least Elsa thought so as she approached him, hands raised and ready to take him down. He desperately tried to run away, presumably to try to grab his dagger laying in the ground behind Elsa. But she quickly released her powers and froze him to the trunk, trapping him to make sure he wouldn't try anything.

"Well? Do you give up?" Elsa asked with a smug smile, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Yes." He sighed, slouching his shoulders in defeat.

Instantly, Elsa shattered the ice and laughed when she watched him fall to the ground. However, her joy was short-lived as he pressed his palms against the floor and she felt a powerful force launching her across the clearing. She landed on her back and for a moment could think of nothing but the pain. It hurt to breathe, but with all the air knocked out of her lungs, she took in several pained breaths. Her back stung due to rocks and twigs digging into her, but otherwise she was unharmed.

She tried to understand what had just happened, her head disoriented and fogged by pain. She tried to stand up but instantly felt a sharp, stabbing pain against her chest. She looked down to see the tip of a dagger piercing her clothing and drawing blood. The wound was not deep enough to be life-threatening, but the placing was very precise. A few more inches and that blade would pierce her heart.

Looking up, she met Percival's angry eyes and saw he was the one holding the dagger. She scowled back at him and yelled angrily.

"What the fuck was that?!" Instead of answering though, he shrugged and got up, putting the dagger back in his belt.

"You never know what powers your enemy may have. Better finish them off before they have a chance to kill you." He said, but that did nothing to lessen Elsa's scowl.

"We're just training!" She complained, getting up while pressing her hand against her wound and releasing her powers to alleviate the pain. "And you never told me you could use magic. I thought you only read about it."

"I've learned a few tricks." He answered with a nonchalant attitude. "Nothing special though; almost anyone can learn them, really."

"You could have told me sooner." Elsa mumbled angrily, upset that he was keeping secrets from her. After all, even if he was technically her teacher, training her to have better control of her powers, he should still treat her like the goddess he claimed she was. Part of being her servant meant not lying to her. Ever.

"I didn't deem it necessary." Was his infuriating answer. "And besides, if you had finished me off, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to use magic."

"I'm not killing you." Elsa rolled her eyes, but once she focused again on the boy, she remembered she actually despised him quite a lot, even if he'd been kinda helpful as of lately. "Yet." She added. "You're still of some use to me."

"You didn't have to kill me. You could have knocked me out." He retorted, apparently unconcerned by the fact the princess had not discarded the possibility of killing him in the future. Moreover, despite her anger, Elsa had to admit he was right; she _could_ have knocked him unconscious. However, she had not done that because she felt bad attacking someone who, at that moment, she assumed to be defenseless.

"I know." She sighed, and looked down in shame. She didn't like failing.

However, she soon noticed something strange about the ground. It was covered in snow, and now that she thought about it, snowflakes had been slowly falling down from the sky for a while now. An unfortunate by-product of her unstable emotions and, therefore, powers.

"You should also have more control on your magic." Percival chastised her. "In a real battle wasting your power unnecessarily like this could be fatal."

"I didn't even notice." Elsa answered, watching the snow with a mix of disappointment and anger. She should already be better at this! It had been almost a week since something like this had happened. "I can't control them well enough. They're getting stronger by the day." She told him, but only because she knew he was the only one who could _maybe_ help her with this.

"Every day you grow, they grow too." He told her something she had heard from his mouth at least ten times already. "One day, you'll be powerful enough to freeze the entire kingdom, and therefore it's crucial you can make them do precisely what you want; _nothing_ else."

"You really think I'll be that powerful?" She asked, her gaze lost as she started wondering if having such unstoppable power would be a good or a bad thing. After all, many would surely respect her for that. Right? However, she did not want to freeze anyone… except Anna's suitors. They could all rot in hell for all she cared.

"I know it." He answered without hesitating, and the certainty in his words sent chills down her spine. She did not like thinking about her future, or the possibly divine origin of her powers. It scared her, made her feel small, compared to what she could be in the future.

"I think we've trained enough for today." Elsa said, not wanting to dwell on the subject any further. "Let's go back to the castle."

With that she started walking away from the small clearing that had been their training place for months now. Percival followed her close behind, for the moment blessedly silent. She wanted nothing but to sneak into her room and have a good night of dreamless sleep. She just hoped she did not have nightmares again.

* * *

 _Running. She was running. She did not even care her feet hurt or that her lungs felt like they were about to explode. She needed to escape. They had been following her for a while now, and they were not stopping anytime soon. They carried various weapons, from bows and arrows to swords and even simple kitchen utensils._

 _They wanted to kill the Ice Queen, the witch prophesized by the trolls… and they thought it was her._

 _No. They_ knew _it was her. Heck, even_ she _knew it! She was a monster, someone with demon-like powers that could not be contained. They acted responding to her emotions, and in that moment, they were driven wild by her fear._

" _But what are you afraid of?" A voice asked her, and she looked up to find Percival sitting just ahead of her, a calm expression in place, as if he had not noticed the angry mob going after her. "You don't have to be afraid." He said once more. "You're a goddess. You can crush them like insects with a single flick of your hand." He smiled wickedly. "They're the ones who should be afraid."_

 _And just like that, suddenly Elsa didn't have control of her body. She stopped and turned around, obeying an unspoken command of an unknown source. Then, she rose her hands and, with a powerful cry, released every bit of her magic._

 _After that, everything was confusing. She could only make out some details; giant icicles falling from the sky, monster-like creatures made of snow destroying everything in their way, ice crawling up buildings and shattering the structure into pieces, and… Blood. Screams. People dying, calling out for their loved ones and crying in pain._

 _However, try as she did, Elsa could not bring herself to care. Could not bring herself to stop. The gruesome scene before her gave her some kind of twisted satisfaction._

 _Suddenly, it wasn't an unknown force taking control of her body. No,_ she _was in control now. And she didn't want to stop._

* * *

Elsa woke up covered in sweat, her heart racing in her chest and threatening to burst out of her ribs.

That nightmare had felt _so_ real, and it was far longer and more detailed than the previous ones. More disturbingly though, was the fact that this time she had not been horrified by the carnage; she had _enjoyed_ it. If that did not make her a sick monster, she no longer had any idea what could.

 _Calm down. It was a stupid dream._ She told herself.

However, she could not calm down. She knew dreams are often a reflection of your most secret thoughts and desires. She knew that, deep down, she might wish to inflict such horrors in her people at some point. And that scared her more than anything else. More even than the fact her whole room was now covered in ice, and she would probably be punished in the morning if she did not managed to thaw it in time.

In her current shaken state, that task seemed more than impossible.

* * *

The next day, just after eating breakfast, the servants informed her father about her little slip up of magic and, of course, she was reprimanded before attending to her first lesson of the day. Little details like that sometimes made her wonder why she even bothered to remain in the castle and do everything she was told. However, such thoughts were quickly quashed when she'd remind herself that she was the heir to the throne. And once she became queen she would have the power to make some _very_ necessary changes.

Like kicking Anna's suitors out of the palace, for example. Though thankfully they were no longer there all the time and the selection had been narrowed down recently. Only two of them remained; the stupid prince of the Southern Isles with his ugly sideburns, and Kristoff, a blonde boy from a nearby town, son of a lord of some sort. Honestly, he was not as bad as the others were, but she did not think he would make it this far. Not only because of his rather mediocre title, but also his awful smell… and weird habit of spending most of the time with his reindeer.

However, the worst thing in that damn palace lately was… _Anna_. Yes, that stupid little girl had apparently forgotten about her sister's confession about her true feelings for her (or at least decided to ignore it completely). So, instead of avoiding her like the plague, she had lately resorted to a far more painful sort of torture; she had been trying to convince her to spend some time with her and the princes, arguing they'd all be one big happy family soon enough (as soon as Anna came of age, so in about three years).

Of course, Elsa had immediately refused each and every time, but… that only made Anna angrier and more determined to achieve her goals. The older girl was afraid she would soon resort to complaining to their parents about it, at which point they would force Elsa to socialize with their guests.

She hoped something like that would take some time to happen, though.

"Elsa!" A voice was heard just outside her room.

 _Speak of the devil._

"What?" She spat, not bothering on telling her little sister to come in. But then again, she did so without waiting for Elsa to answer.

"Uh… I'm going out with Kristoff, don't you want to come? You could bring Percival along." She answered, getting directly to the point so Elsa wouldn't have a chance to tell her to fuck off before she could even invite her.

"No. I don't want to go out with you and your _smelly_ boyfriend." She said, not bothering to turn from her position at the desk to look at her, and pretending to be engrossed on what she was reading. Truthfully, she didn't have any idea of what she was looking at, but anything was better than looking at Anna.

"Oh, come on! His smell is just… different." Anna tried to defend him. "And he is very nice, even if a little awkward." She giggled. "I think you would like him, if you ever tried to get to know him."

Elsa could not help noticing the fond way she talked about him. It was obvious she liked him a lot; she had been spending more and more time with him ever since the selection had narrowed down. And it hurt. A lot. So much in fact, that Elsa knew she could never like that boy, no matter how good he was. No matter if he could make Anna happy.

"Not interested." Was her curt reply.

"But…" Anna was about to protest, but was cut off by a hard glare from Elsa, who suddenly turned around and stared daggers at her.

"Not. Interested." She repeated through gritted teeth, trying to appear mad and annoyed at the younger girl, but… it was quite easy to get distracted. Anna had always been beautiful, at least in Elsa's opinion there was no doubt about it. But lately… gosh, lately she was just _gorgeous_.

She was not oblivious to the fact that her hips had widened, and her previously flat chest, now had a pair of very soft-looking mounds that were no doubt a sight to behold without clothes. More so, she was now almost as tall as Elsa, and her legs were long and shapely, instead of short and chubby.

No, Anna was a woman now. And so was she. And she had urges.

Gosh, how she wished she could run her hands through that copper hair! Kiss those pink lips that were once hers, but now seemed so much more tantalizing. Take off those clothes and marvel at the wonder of her sister's new body, explore it; discover the color of her nipples, the feeling of her pubic hair on her hand, the taste of…

"Elsa?" Anna's voice pulled her out of her contemplation, and she realized she had just been caught staring. Blushing, she averted her gaze and tried to think of innocent things.

"D-did you say something?" She asked, trying not to appear too nervous, which prompted Anna to sigh in disappointment, obviously upset that she was not listening.

"I said you should at least let me get to know Percival, you know? To see if he's good enough for my sister." Anna answered with a teasing smile, obviously implying he and Elsa were in a romantic relationship. "You've been spending a lot of time with him lately, and I think a double date would be a good opportunity to get to know each other's special someone."

"Percival is _not_ my 'special someone'." Elsa retorted clearly upset at the mere suggestion, quoting with her fingers. "He's just the moron our parents chose to be my husband, but I don't even like him."

"Why don't you tell them?" Anna asked, genuinely curious.

"Because they won't care?" Elsa answered, rolling her eyes, thinking she was stating the obvious.

"Of course they'll care! They're our parents, and they surely know a marriage has to be based on love." The younger girl answered naively.

"Love is a luxury not all of us have." Elsa retorted, looking almost accusingly at her, trying not to remember the time she had broken her heart, and failing miserably. Even if many years had passed since that day, it still hurt like a newly made wound.

"That's not true!" Anna protested, exasperated at the negative attitude of her sister. "True love is something every person must feel."

"Oh, I know that." Elsa agreed. "But not everyone can marry the person they love. The sooner you understand this, the better. Or else you'll learn it in a very painful way." She said it like a warning, but she wondered if it was even valid for Anna. After all, she would probably marry Kristoff, and she seemed to be very fond of him. Maybe not to the point of _love_ yet, but…

Elsa forcibly stopped that train of thought. There was no use on dwelling on that; it would only hurt her even more.

"Ugh! I hate it when you are all grumpy and pessimistic." She complained, running her hand through her bangs in an exasperated gesture. "You sound like a bitter old lady."

"So?" She shrugged, wanting to be left alone.

"Unbelievable!" Anna exclaimed, crossing her arms over her chest disapprovingly. "I just wanted to spend some time with you, because we've been distant as of late, and I thought we could also get to know our respective princes. But you don't care one bit about it."

"No, I don't." Elsa said, not bothering to correct her sister's statement, even if she was not sure it was true; she _would_ like to spend some time with Anna without fighting or arguing over something. But she absolutely hated Kristoff, and didn't want to see him, so… "Now, if you're done, I'd like to go back to my studies."

"If you keep up this attitude, you will die alone." Anna said angrily before turning around and storming out of the room. Elsa could only sigh and try to focus again on the text in front of her. But she couldn't.

The distance between her and Anna was getting larger everyday, and she did not like it. She loved her with all her heart. She loved her more than anything in the world. She'd give up everything and anything to have her, and yet… she kept driving her away. Why? She wasn't sure. There were too many reasons; the suitors, her powers, her incestuous feelings, the fact everyone thought she was a monster… it was too difficult.

She knew there would come a time in the not too distant future where they would practically be strangers. It was the last thing in the world she wanted, but she couldn't think of anything she could do to stop her worst fears from coming true.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! An I know it's been ages, but I have three good excuses; one, I wanted to finish my other fic, Just one week, before classes started again (which I did!), two, I then went back to school, and it's my last semester on the university, so I've been very busy with homework, and three…The legend of Zelda: Breath of the wild was released. Yeah.**

 **But anyways, I hope to have the next one much sooner. Until them please leave a review if you like this fic; they really encourage me to keep writing, and favorite or follow if you haven't.**

 **Oh, and please check my new fic, The Northern lands, if you want and if you like mystery. It's pretty good, if I do say so myself.**

 **Anyways, that'd be all for now. Hope to see you soon, thanks for reading :D**

 **And thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	15. The cell

**Chapter 15: The cell.**

Eighteen years – Fifteen years.

Elsa had been having some problems as of late. Nothing new, really, but they were troubling her nonetheless. As she had suspected would happen, Anna had finally gotten tired of her sister constantly avoiding her and their respective suitors and had talked to their parents about it, who of course immediately decided to force Elsa into accepting her sister's requests.

It hadn't been that bad at first, mainly because Hans had returned to his kingdom for a few months by the request of his father, who apparently needed him for some princely duty or another. So she had been hanging out with Anna and Kristoff, who she had to admit (even if she really didn't want to) was actually a pretty nice guy; he was kind, funny, considerate, respectful, and treated Anna like… well, like a princess. Really, her little sister could never possibly find someone better to marry. And that's probably what made her hate him so much.

It would have been easier if he was a brainless jerk like Hans; that way she could've hated him without feeling bad about it. She could have given Anna genuine reasons to leave him. She could have found better excuses to avoid him… but no. He just had to be so fucking perfect.

She had been trying to find defects in the boy for months now, but so far all she had discovered was that he occasionally picked his nose, smelled like reindeer all the time, and peed in the forest (well, actually that was one time they'd gone out and were pretty far from any restroom, so it was understandable). She had told Anna nonetheless, hoping she'd be disgusted by those things, but she had just shrugged and said she already knew and didn't care.

She was in love. That was _painfully_ clear. And it ripped Elsa's heart apart every time she saw her flirting with Kristoff or looking at him with love in her eyes. She'd even seen them kissing one time and… yeah, she had had to lock herself in her room for the rest of the day to avoid freezing someone solid.

At least the lessons with Percival helped her release some tension, especially now that she was able to control her magic a little better; enough to repel the prince's spells at least.

However, she somehow doubted that'd help her much today. Why? Because she'd have to deal with Prince Sideburns himself. Yes, he had returned from his kingdom a few days ago, and so now she was forced to spend the whole day with him, Anna and Percival. She just hoped she didn't end up freezing him by accident; her parents surely wouldn't be happy about it.

Thankfully, the first few minutes consisted on Anna talking about anything and everything as they took a walk around town. Hans listened, smiled and nodded from time to time, Percival had an absent expression and seemed to be pretty bored, and Elsa just tried to look at anywhere but Anna's arm looped around the stupid prince's elbow.

They just looked like the perfect couple! The Prince and his Princess. Both good-looking, both with perfect charming smiles. Both happy, young, of noble blood and… well… _compatible_. She'd never look like that with Anna and she hated if, but she still tried not to dwell on it too much. Instead, she decided to focus on the scenery, on the different stores they passed, on the people they saw and what they were doing, etc.

It wasn't working as much as she wanted, but at least she wasn't freezing anything, and Hans seemed to be more occupied on trying to impress Anna than on showing his contempt for the older sister. But of course, that was probably just an act he had to keep up when the redheaded princess was around, if his awful attitude towards her the few times they had been alone was any indication.

Soon they arrived at the bakery, a place Anna had wanted to visit with Percival since the start of their "double-dates", despite Percival's intense dislike of sweets. Anna fiercely believed that a person that doesn't like sweets can't be trusted, and so wanted to see what kind of pastries her soon-to-be-brother-in-law liked before fully approving of him. As such, as soon as they crossed the door, she dragged Percival into the store and disappeared with him, leaving Elsa alone with Hans.

An awkward silence followed as soon as they were left on their own, but Elsa didn't make any effort to break it. She knew she couldn't possibly be nice to the prince for longer than a few seconds, and didn't want to get in trouble with her parents, so awkward silence suited her needs just fine. So she proceeded to ignore him and instead started looking around, pretending to be trying hard to decide what she would buy.

Soon though, she noticed the stupid boy was following her around, but she refused to acknowledge him because she knew that's what he wanted. Eventually, however, she grew uncomfortable because of how close he was to her, or how he matched her every step. It was rather creepy, and she was wondering if the repercussions of freezing the floor and making him slip would be worth it.

Suddenly though, he finally decided to break the silence, and Elsa wished he had kept his mouth shut.

"You know, Elsa, I've been curious about something for quite some time: how can you and Anna be sisters if you two are so different?" Elsa rolled her eyes at his obvious attempt to make her upset and kept ignoring him. "I mean, you are cold, calculating, not feminine in any way and have the power to freeze an entire kingdom in the blink of an eye, while she's, well… a bumbling little girl that doesn't know what's best for her."

At his words, Elsa froze. She'd never heard anyone insult her sister like that. And this was her _suitor_. Sure, he was a jerk, but Elsa had thought that he at least was a little fond of Anna. Apparently not. But hey, maybe that meant that he didn't want to marry her anymore?

"Can you believe she told me yesterday that she actually wants to marry that Kristoff guy?" He continued. "I mean, he's just a stupid boy, son of a Lord, unworthy of the throne of Arendelle." He sighed. "Why can't she see I'm her best option?"

Oh, so that's what it was. He was jealous.

"Maybe because you're not." Elsa answered with an unfriendly tone of voice. As much as she didn't like the idea of Anna marrying Kristoff, it was still _way_ better than her marrying Hans.

"Oh, come on! Don't tell me you'd prefer to see her marry that smelly reindeer-loving manchild! I thought you were smarter than that."

"What do you want, Hans?" Elsa practically hissed, annoyed by his attitude.

"I want you to talk some sense into her." Hans simply answered, apparently believing Elsa would be interested in doing that. "Convince her to marry me."

"And _why_ on earth would I do that?" She answered, raising an eyebrow, not believing he had just asked such a thing of her.

"Because it's pretty obvious that you're miserable, and I think I know why."

"If you knew why you wouldn't even consider asking this of me." Elsa responded, laughing at his answer. He didn't know anything about her after all!

"You're miserable because you parents keep you hidden, afraid of your powers, trying to suppress your magic like it's a bad thing, while you could be so much _more_." He continued, like he hadn't heard her. "Do you have any idea of how powerful you could be if you learned to use your magic properly? Arendelle could become the most powerful kingdom in the world. With you leading it, your armies would be unstoppable! And I'm sure I can convince your parents to at least let you try and control your magic… but only if you help _me_ first." He finished with an arrogant smirk, probably thinking he had already won, but though Elsa was a little interested in what he'd said (because yes, part of the reason her life was less than ideal was because her parents forced her to hide her magic), Percival was already helping her in that regard. Plus, as soon as she became queen, she'd stop obeying that stupid rule. And besides, Hans probably didn't have the power to convince her parents of anything, so…

"Not interested." She simply said before turning around and walking towards the exit of the store, not caring that Anna and Percival were still in the process of buying some sweets.

"Oh, come on!" Hans exclaimed exasperated. "What do you want me to do?"

"Find another way to convince Anna to marry you. And never talk to me again." She shrugged and exited the store, confident that her little sister would never agree to marry someone like that stupid prince from the Southern Iles.

* * *

Elsa had gone back to the castle only to receive a lecture from her parents about how she wasn't being nice to Anna's suitors, which she ignored completely. Then, she went to the library to study for a while before it was time for dinner, but she decided to stop earlier than normal. She just couldn't concentrate, as all her thoughts kept turning to the day's earlier events.

That stupid Prince Hans! She just hated him so much. Ever since he'd appeared in her life, he'd called her names, belittled her and tried to steal the love of her life. Yet after all that he wanted her to help him? Right, she'd rather freeze his ass off to teach him a lesson. Thankfully, in three years or less he'd be out of her life for good. There was no way Anna would choose him over Kristoff; she was sure of that.

So she kept imaging painful ways to kill him while she tried to read some text about trade agreements, which is why she couldn't concentrate and also why she ended her studies early. She was still boiling on anger though, and so she decided to go find Percival before dinner. Talking with him would surely make her see things more clearly and stop obsessing over something as lame and as stupid as what Hans had said to her earlier.

However, just as she was about to round a corner to enter the hallway where the guest's rooms were, she heard voices and instinctively stopped so she could listen.

"So she said no?" A voice she didn't recognized spoke.

"That bitch pretty much told me to fuck off." Hans answered angrily. "I bet that boy must have brainwashed her; the last time I saw her, she was emotionally weak and unstable. This was supposed to be my chance to convince her."

Hearing his words, Elsa assumed he was talking about Anna, and if so, this meant she'd already rejected him. She wanted to hear what had happened, so she pressed herself further into the wall to avoid being seen.

"Maybe you should talk to her parents instead." The other man suggested. "It'd be better if she did it by her own will, of course, but you don't have time to befriend her; your father wants her on her way to the Southern Iles as soon as possible."

Had that man just suggested that Hans requested her parents to force Anna to marry him? How terrible. She already disliked that guy, whoever he was.

"I know." Hans said exasperated. "But I already talked to them about Anna, and I don't want to seem overly demanding."

Wait… what? There weren't talking about Anna?

"Plus, I really think forcing Elsa to do _anything_ would end up with us encased in ice blocks." Hans added, and a chill ran down Elsa's spine. They were talking about her. They were talking about what Hans had offered her that morning; using her powers to conquer other kingdoms and basically dominate the world.

"She wouldn't hurt her parents or her sister though. Maybe you should ask them to convince her?" The man suggested, and Elsa finally decided to show herself and confront them; she had heard enough, and she'd show them she wasn't just a tool to be used and that her powers were no joke. She'd scare them a little and make them forget their stupid plans.

"No one could ever convince me to become a slave of the Southern Iles. Or of anyone for that matter" Elsa said loudly as she stepped out of her hiding place. When both men turned around, looking at her startled because of her sudden appearance, she smirked.

"That's right, I heard everything. So, unless you want me to tell my father you were conspiring to pretty much kidnap and use the crown Princess of Arendelle as a war machine, you better leave right now and never return to _my_ kingdom."

"Your kingdom?" Hans raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Do you really think your parents will make you Queen? Face it, you are nothing but a monster to everyone here, all because they all believe in that stupid prophecy. If you joined me though, you could accomplish great things; you could be a hero to both our kingdoms."

Elsa resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his lies. Did he really think she was stupid enough to believe a word he said?

"I said it once, and I repeat it again; leave or you'll pay the consequences." Elsa insisted crossing her arms over her chest, keeping her ground even when Hans stepped towards her, invading her personal space and looking at her with an arrogant expression.

"And if we don't want? What are you gonna do, _ice freak_?"

Elsa's blood boiled at his use of that mean nickname. She knew the princes had always called her that when she wasn't around, but no one had ever dared to say it to her face. And yet Hans used it to insult her even after she'd heard _him_ having a very incriminating conversation with the other man. Maybe he needed a little reminder of why he should respect her; why he shouldn't mess with the Snow _Queen_.

The magic on her finger tips tingled pleasantly at the thought, running through her veins at incredible speed, wanting to be let out. And just _why_ shouldn't she let it out? He was a traitor, conspiring against her, thinking someone as stupid and weak as him could ever control a goddess-like being like her, mocking her, insulting her in her own home, wanting to marry Anna and force her into literal slavery.

Yes, he deserved a punishment. He deserved death actually, but she wouldn't kill him. Her parents wouldn't forgive her if she did that. No, she'd only scare him a bit, and if her parents asked, she'd tell them what she'd heard, and then Hans would be out of her life for good. Yes, that sounded like a plan.

Without thinking any further, she raised her hand, releasing her magic on Hans' arm. She had intended to encase it in ice for a moment to make him scream and then release him, but… her powers didn't respond to her thoughts, instead reacting according to the intensity of her emotions, and in that moment, her emotions wanted to hurt Hans.

The prince screamed and fell to the ground, clutching his arm tightly and crying for help. Slowly, Elsa saw as his fingers turned a sickening pale tone, before becoming a light blue. But… there was something very strange about it. They were also see-through now. Almost like… _ice_.

Before she even had time to comprehend what had happened, however, two guards came into the hallway, stopping at the sight of the prince laying on the ground and screaming in pain and Elsa standing over him with her hand extended, ice still forming on the ground around her.

Realizing what this looked like, the princess straightened, clutching her hand to her chest, and trying to appear calm as she addressed the guards.

"Gentlemen, please escort these men outside the castle; there were conspiring against me, and Prince Hans tried to attack me."

"She's lying!" The other man from the Southern Iles said. "She's crazy; she attacked Prince Hans without reason. She's dangerous!"

The guards hesitated for a moment, alternating their gaze between the two, which by itself upset Elsa a lot, because after all, _she_ was their princess. She had more authority over them than any foreign guest! And yet, when one of them spoke, he disobeyed Elsa's direct order.

"Princess, forgive me, but you'll have to come with me."

"What?!" She pretty much shrieked, having expected them to at least somewhat follow her orders.

"His Majesty, King Agdar, asked us to bring you to him if something like this ever happened." He explained.

"B-but… but what about _them_?" She asked, pointing to the other men.

"Take Prince Hans to the infirmary immediately." He instructed the other guard. "I'm sure the King will meet with him as soon as he's able."

"Didn't you hear me? They were conspiring against me! They deserve to be kicked out of the castle." Elsa exclaimed, enraged with the guard, who was looking at her like he didn't believe her at all.

"You'll explain it to your father. Now please, follow me."

"Oh, I will explain to him alright." Elsa fumed, walking past him towards her father's study, the guard following her close behind. She knew her best chance to get Hans to have the punishment he deserved was to talk to her father right away and explain in detail what she had done and why. Maybe then he wouldn't punish her for using her magic. Maybe.

* * *

When she finally entered the king's study, promptly followed by the guard, her father looked up from the papers he'd been reading, looking at her questioningly, and also slightly mad for being interrupted so rudely.

"Father…" She started, but was interrupted by the guard.

"Your Majesty." He said, bowing to the King. "I'm sorry to disturb you, but you see… there was an accident. Princess Elsa hurt Prince Hans."

Elsa rolled her eyes, upset that the guard had both interrupted her, _and_ said her crime before explaining the whole situation, but before she could even protest, her father stood up, looking angrily at her.

"You what?!" He exclaimed, but she tried not to show any fear at his outburst. What was the worst he could do, after all?

"It's nothing, really; he'll survive." She shrugged, trying to rest importance to it.

"That's not the point, Elsa." He answered, glaring holes at her. She did her best not to flinch. "Did you use your powers?"

"Well… yes." She admitted, knowing he'd find out the truth even if she didn't tell him. "But it was for a good reason." She tried to defend herself.

"There's no good reason!" He exclaimed as he hit his desk angrily with his hands, startling Elsa to the point she actually took a step back. "Why, no matter what we do, you can't understand that your magic is cursed and unnatural, and should _never_ be used?"

Elsa had to bite down her tongue in order to stop herself from telling him that he was stupid and ignorant, and that she was sick of being treated like she was unstable dynamite that could explode at any second. Instead, she took a moment to actually listen to his words and come back with a reply that would help her.

"Exactly! I don't want to use my powers." She lied. "But I heard Hans talking with another man, planning on forcing me to use my magic for war, saying it could be used to help the Southern Iles conquer other kingdoms. They wanted to convince you to agree to it."

"Stop lying, Elsa." He answered with a warning tone.

"I'm not lying! It's the truth." She insisted.

"You could have at least invented something more believable." He sighed, rubbing his temple, clearly exasperated by her.

"I'm telling you; I'm not lying!"

"You're trying to justify having hurt Prince Hans, who is not only a guest in our kingdom, but also Anna's suitor, using those cursed powers that you were told to conceal." He pretty much snarled, looking at her with anger and contempt. "If he dies, Elsa, I swear I'll banish you from Arendelle." He threatened, and though Elsa tried to laugh it off in her mind, the truth is she wasn't sure if it was an empty threat.

"I just hurt his hand a little, he should be fine." She assured him, trying not to remember how his fingers appeared to have turned into ice. "You should really investigate him though; I bet he's up to no good."

"No." The king shook his head, looking at her with a cold expression, like he was trying to suppress his anger for her, but only in order to think clearly and plan the best way to go about this.

"What I need to do is punish you for your crime." He said after a moment of silence. Elsa sighed and clenched her hands, already feeling the pain he'd inflict on them, but then he spoke again. "However, the punishment has to as big as what you did; otherwise I'll have problems with the Southern Iles."

"Great. Then go ahead and cut off my arm, why don't you?" Elsa replied with spite, mad at him for not believing a word of what she'd said, instead immediately wanting to punish her for using her powers. As usual.

Her father only sighed in disappointment at her rather disrespectful tone before turning to the guard and saying in a manner so calm it was unnerving:

"Take her to that place. Don't let her out until I say so."

"Yes sir." He answered before hesitantly approaching to her and grabbing her elbow. "I'm sorry, princess. King's orders."

Instantly though, she shook his hand off her and took a step back.

"But you don't understand!" She exclaimed, still enraged at her father. However, he didn't let her continue.

"Enough, Elsa!" He yelled stepping towards her, using his towering height to intimidate her. "You will do as I say and won't make accusations like those until you actually have proof, understand?"

She just glared at him, having some kind of weird staring contest, but the more she saw his angry face and thought over his words, the more she realized he wouldn't listen to a word she said. At least not in that moment. Not until after she'd been punished for having used her powers.

Angry at herself for accepting this kind of treatment, but knowing it was the only way he'd listen to her, she sighed and finally deviated her gaze.

"Fine. Just tell me where it is and I'll go there." She told the guard.

"I can't tell you, Princess." He answered with a weary tone of voice and, after looking at her father for confirmation and receiving a curt nod, she pointed to the door and spoke.

"Okay then, lead the way."

* * *

After a few minutes, Elsa was now following the guard through a part of the castle she wasn't sure she'd seen before. It was past the servant's quarters, and near the armory, but she still didn't quite know what was down there. At first she'd thought he'd take her to one of the rooms meant for servants and that she'd be forced to spend the night there, in the harder and less fancy beds, but no. Then she'd thought he'd take her to the stables, to sleep with the horses, but when they deviated trough another hallway instead of going out to the stable, she figured that was not the case either. But then _where_ was he taking her? She sure had no idea.

Finally, after a little more walking, they stopped in front of a heavy wooden door that sure looked like it could use some painting. Elsa assumed it was some kind of abandoned cellar because of how old it looked, but then the guard brought out a set of keys and opened the door just enough for him to slip in, not before telling her to wait there.

Confused, Elsa staid where she was, debating between actually waiting for him or going to hide somewhere and then laugh at his attempts to find her. After all she didn't want to get into more trouble, but he still shouldn't make a princess wait.

Before she could decide on what to do though, the door opened and the man came out of there with other two guards in tow, though these ones actually looked tougher and more severe than the first one.

Elsa barely had time to reflect on this, however, because as soon as they came out, they grabbed her roughly by her arms and, before she could even think about using her magic to defend herself, placed two heavy objects on her hands.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Elsa asked, confused and more than a little scared, when she felt the metallic objects closing around her hands, enveloping them completely and applying pressure on her wrists in a painful and uncomfortable way. Then, a click was heard and the guards finally released her, stepping back.

Elsa looked down at her hands and saw a pair of very strange shackles encasing them. And a couple of chains that led from the tip of those shackles to the hands of the guards.

Realization hit her when she saw past the men and to the dark hallway behind the wooden door, instantly recognizing the dungeons.

She was being imprisoned. Even if it was only temporarily.

"No!" She screamed, stepping back and releasing a powerful blast of magic, only to realize a moment later that all it did was create a layer of frost inside the shackles. "You're not locking me in there, you hear me?!" She said with the most authority she could muster, glaring at them as if she could kill them just by wishing it.

"I'm sorry princess, we're just following orders." One of the prison guards said, not sounding apologetic at all. He just seemed apathetic as he tugged on her chains, forcing her forward even if she tried to resist. She hated to admit it, but he was _way_ stronger than her.

"No! Stop!" She kept protesting, kicking and screaming, as she was dragged through the dark hallway full of mostly empty cells until they reached the last one. It had a heavy metal door with no bars, without even a window to see through, unlike the others. At the sight, she doubled her efforts, but it was for naught, and soon she was inside and the chains were attached to a metallic ring on the floor.

She kept protesting even after the guards had released her and went to exit the cell. It was only after a few minutes being alone in there though, that she realized she was crying.

It was pathetic. It showed her how weak and helpless she was feeling at the moment. It was just typical of a stupid little princess that couldn't take a little of harsh treatment before becoming a sobbing mess. And yet she couldn't bring herself to stop.

Why? Because she would have felt better if the shackles didn't perfectly fit her hands, or if they couldn't completely hold back her powers. Maybe if she had the hard floor for a bed instead of an actual mattress, she would have felt relieved. Or if her room didn't possess an ornate window with a beautiful view of the fjord.

Maybe, if she was in an ordinary cell, she'd wouldn't be crying. Because it was pretty obvious this cell had specially been constructed for her.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey! It's been ages, right? Sorry about that, I was busy with school XP. But at least this chapter was a long one, so please, if you're still reading this story, and if you liked this chapter (though I have to recognize I'm being kinda cruel with Elsa lol), please leave a review or favorite/follow if you haven't. All this encourages me to write more :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	16. The plot

**Chapter 16: The plot.**

Eighteen years - Fifteen years.

"Elsa? Elsa?" The queen asked as she gently touched her daughter's shoulder, but Elsa didn't bother to turn around. She didn't say anything or do anything; it was almost as if she hadn't seen her or heard her, as if she was asleep. But no, her eyes were open and ice was slowly crawling up the walls. Elsa was clearly awake; she just didn't want to acknowledge her mother's existence.

The queen didn't like it when Elsa did that, more so considering she was just trying to help her. Elsa had been locked in that cell for a little over a week, and would remain there until she managed to control her powers. Unfortunately Elsa kept freezing everything without even meaning to, and this was despite the special magic-suppressing shackles she was wearing. That's why her mother had come to visit her that day, to convince her to try a little harder, hoping that a little encouragement would be enough to thaw the frost that covered the cell walls.

"Elsa, please. Try a little harder. If you just thaw the ice, we can let you out of here. Please, I'm just trying to help you."

The princess almost scoffed in reply. Help her? Right. When had her mother ever helped her? When had she done something nice for her? She only cared about Elsa not managing to escape prison thanks to her powers. She'd probably leave her there to rot even if by some miracle she managed to thaw the ice.

But then again… her expression was a sincere one. She _was_ concerned. She was worried because her older daughter hadn't eaten and had barely slept the past week. At this point she more resembled a corpse than a princess.

On the other hand… where had she been when Elsa had cried herself to sleep the first night in the cell. Or when she had shouted for hours at the cell door, demanding the guards release her, until she had finally collapsed from exhaustion? Where had she been when she pulled on the shackles until they'd dug into her skin so deeply she was convinced she wouldn't be able to use her hands ever again? Or when she'd slammed herself against the door in anger until her shoulder had felt like it would break from another impact? Right. Her mother had probably been in her room, drinking tea and gossiping with one of her noble friends; laughing while Elsa was crying in the dark, desolate dungeon.

But of course Elsa knew what she said was true; they wouldn't let her out unless she somehow managed to thaw her ice. And she was beyond desperate to get out of this cell. She wasn't only sick of being locked up and chained to the wall like a rabid animal, with nothing to do and nowhere to go. She hated feeling so helpless, unable to have any control of her powers. More so, it hurt her pride having to be fed by the guards, since the shackles didn't allow her to use her hands. And since she refused to let them feed her, she hadn't eaten all the time she'd been there, which was the reason she was absolutely starving.

So maybe that's why, against her will and despite not wanting to listen to her mother, she forced herself to concentrate and make the frost disappear.

It was even more difficult than normal, and it took her a massive effort, but she finally managed to do it. Partially due to her mother's encouragement and calming caresses upon her shoulder, (not that she'd ever admit it). Part of her still expected to be left in the cell even after she'd successfully thawed the ice; she thought that maybe it all had been a trick just to get her to stop freezing the dungeon. But to her immense relief, the moment the last snowflake disappeared a clicking sound has heard and her shackles fell to the ground.

Instantly she sat up from her prone position, startling her mom, and stared at her bare hands. She marveled at how good it felt to finally be able to freely move her fingers and feel the air on her skin. It had been far too long. Even if only a week or so had really passed, to her it had felt like an eternity, and tears of relief threatened to fall from her eyes. But she didn't let them. She didn't want her mother to see her cry.

Instead, she just marched to the door and yanked it open, only pausing at the doorframe to briefly acknowledge the queen.

"I'm going to be in my room."

"Wait, Elsa!" She called her before she could fully exit the cell, making her stop even though she didn't turn to face her. "Don't tell Anna about any of this. She was told you had been sent to visit a distant relative for a couple of days. She can't know you were imprisoned, understand?"

Elsa paused, tensing noticeably. _Of course_ they hadn't told her innocent little sister about this; they _knew_ what they had done was wrong, and didn't want Anna getting mad at them or questioning their choices. But, even if she knew she should tell her, she also knew she couldn't. Not if she didn't want to be locked in the cell again. So she forced herself to agree with a stiff nod before rushing to the royal wing.

* * *

The first thing Elsa did upon arriving to her room was order her maid to draw a bath for her and, once that was taken care of, had a relaxing and _very_ necessary cleaning session. Then, she ordered for food to be sent to her room, since she was absolutely famished, and ate until she couldn't possibly take another bite. Finally, she locked the door and fell asleep until the evening of the next day; she'd really missed her comfy bed.

Once she woke up though, it was to a very unwelcomed face. _Anna_. She thought she'd told her servants not to let anyone in, and yet there was her little sister, with that adorable and innocent face of hers, thinking she'd just came back from a short trip when the truth was much more horrible.

And she'd have to lie. Not that she wanted to tell Anna every depressing detail of how bad her imprisonment was, but in that moment she needed someone to comfort her more than anything. She needed someone to agree with her that what her father had done was unfair, to tell her she wasn't a monster that should be kept locked in the dungeons, to hold her close and wipe her tears away… but she couldn't rely on Anna for that. Or anyone for that matter. And that made her want to just close her eyes and never wake up again.

"H-hi." Anna said with a nervous wave. "How are you feeling? Mama told me you had a slight cold."

"She said that, huh?" Elsa asked with a voice so soft Anna barely heard it, before turning to lay on her side, her back facing Anna. She hated the lies they told her little sister, but also knew there was nothing she could do about it. "Well, I _am_ feeling sick, so maybe it's better if you go."

"But… I wanted to ask you about your… _vacations_." Anna protested.

"There's not much to talk about. It was like being locked in a cell." Elsa shrugged, hoping her sister would go now. However, she did notice how she'd say 'vacations', like she was implying it was more than that. Maybe she knew she had been punished for something? How much had her parents told her?

"Well, good." She said in a stern tone. "You deserved it after what you did to Hans."

At this, Elsa turned around and glared at her angrily. She couldn't believe what she'd just said!

" _Excuse me_? Are you going to defend that bastard now? He wanted to use my powers to dominate the world!" She said, getting angrier by the second as she remembered trying to explain the same to her father only to be immediately punished. And judging by Anna's angry expression, now her entire family was against her and on Hans' side, including Anna.

"And _you_ froze his arm off!" Anna exclaimed, looking at her so furiously, Elsa almost flinched. "You could have waited, tried to get proof about what he was planning and _then_ tell our father, but no! You just had to go and ruin everything!" At this, she got up and left the room, but Elsa was able to see her barely contained tears before she left, and hear her sobs as she closed the door.

Anna was _crying_.

Like _she_ was the victim. Like _she_ was the one they'd locked in a cell for a whole week. Like _she_ was the one who felt too weak to get out of her bed.

That thought was what made her furious, more so than anything else, even more than Anna defending Hans. But she knew that, if she let herself get too mad, she'd end up releasing her powers and get punished again. So she forced herself to calm down and forget about Anna. She was just a stupid little girl who didn't have any idea about anything. She shouldn't waste her time thinking about her.

But just trying to convince herself that Anna wasn't worth it wasn't helping much, and soon she decided she needed a distraction.

* * *

Elsa knew she _really_ shouldn't be doing this. It was dangerous, and not only due to her current frail, weakened condition. If someone saw her walking alone at an alley at the outskirts of town at night… well, she doubted under such circumstances her status as Crown Princess would be of any help.

But well, at least she'd been sensible enough to dress herself as a boy, including a cape and a hat to partially conceal her face so no one would recognize her. That meant she wouldn't have to worry about being raped. Just robbed. Or killed. But at least it would make flirting with girls easier.

That's right. That was why she'd escaped the palace in the middle of the night; to go to a packed bar in one of the rowdiest parts of the town to try and maybe kiss a few girls.

Just a distraction. That's all this was.

And after tonight, she'd return to her hellish life at the castle, with parents that didn't love her and only wished to imprison her, and a little sister who just thought about marrying her suitors as soon as possible. But at least she'd be queen one day, and when that happened, she'd have her revenge.

For now though, she just entered the bar and went to sit in an unoccupied corner before ordering a beer. She'd never really liked alcohol much because it made her powers more uncontrollable than ever, but she knew it would keep her mind off things for a few hours and make her relax, which is what she needed to do if she wanted to have fun.

So she started drinking her beer as soon as it was given to her. She absolutely hated the taste, especially since she had ordered the cheapest type she could, but there was nothing she could do about it. So she swallowed it down in one gulp, grimacing as soon as she put it down, and feeling more than a bit dizzy.

That was when _she_ appeared. Sliding up right next to her, flashing a quick look at a pair of very sexy legs, wearing an indecent dress and giving her a flirting smile.

"Take it easy there. It's obvious you're a lightweight, and we don't want you passing out at the table now, do we?" She was obviously mocking her, but Elsa couldn't even get mad at her because all her attention was focused on contemplating her figure. She was _at least_ thirty years old, with long curly brown hair and tan skin, but her body was curvaceous and her legs were long, and she wore red lipstick that made her full lips stand out even more. Elsa decided she was pretty. Not quite like Anna, but she would do.

"No, I suppose not." She answered, shamelessly ogling her. "The night is young after all, and I can think on more than a few _activities_ to get to before falling asleep." She finished with a wink, hoping she was doing it right; everything she knew about flirting she'd learned from watching the guards flirting with the maids, which wasn't saying much.

"My, aren't you subtle?" The woman laughed, obviously not believing the 'young man' had just said such a thing to her. "Then again, I didn't expect such a young boy to know how to charm a woman."

"I-I'm here to learn." Elsa answered, blushing. She knew she shouldn't have been so direct!

"I can see that." She winked at her as she saddled up even closer to her side. "How old are you anyways? Fifteen?"

"That depends, do you like young men?" Elsa answered with a smirk, trying to appear more confident than she was, and internally hoping that she didn't notice she was a woman. _And_ the crown princess.

"Yes, but not little kids." The woman said, still waiting for a real answer.

"I'm eighteen." Elsa answered honestly with a sigh.

"Well, then you're not even old enough to be drinking." She said, eying the now-empty jar.

"In this kingdom? No. But where I come from there's no real age restriction." Elsa lied.

"Oh, so you're not from around here." The woman said, resting her elbows on the table and letting her chin rest on her hands, obviously interested in her story.

"No. I'm actually just passing through, on my way to Corona, and I don't really know much about this kingdom. How's everything going here?"

"We can't really complain." The woman shrugged. "Our monarchs aren't tyrants, and they do some good things for the people, when we complain loud enough."

"But?" Elsa asked, interested about what a woman like this had to say about her parents.

"But…" She sighed. "I'm not sure I should be telling you this, given that you don't live here. But I guess I _can_ , since it's not really a secret. Not anymore"

"Go ahead. Even if it's not a secret, I promise I won't tell anyone." Elsa assured her with a smile.

"Okay…" She looked to the sides and, after confirming no one was eavesdropping, she went to sit closer to Elsa and looked at her intently as she asked a question in a whisper. "Have you heard about the troll prophecy?"

"You mean the weird and ridiculous fairytale about a monarch with a frozen heart destroying Arendelle?" Elsa answered, raising an eyebrow. She hated when people brought that thing up.

"For you, who are an outsider, that's all it is." She said with a stern expression. "But for us… it might be our demise."

"Why?" Elsa chuckled, trying to think of a way to get on a cheerier topic.

"You don't know anything about the crown princess?" She asked in disbelief.

"As I said, I'm not exactly from around here." Elsa replied defensively.

"Well… she's a witch. The one from the prophecy." She scream-whispered, obviously being quite passionate about the subject.

"You can't be serious." The princess laughed nervously. "Magic isn't real."

"It is! I've seen it with my own eyes. She killed a peasant boy many years ago!" The woman said, and Elsa tried not to wince at her words, nor to remember the boy. This conversation, combined with the beer, was making her control slip and she felt the magic in her veins fighting for release. But she remained in control and made one last attempt to change the subject.

"I-I really don't think you should be speaking like that about your future queen." She said nervously, now wishing more than anything that her disguise was convincing.

"That _witch_ is not my queen." The woman said with obvious disdain in her voice, grimacing at the thought of the princess. "And she will never be."

"Well… she is the crown princess, so eventually…" Elsa tried to argue, but was promptly interrupted.

"Oh, believe me, we have everything sorted out. And by 'we' I obviously mean people far more powerful than I." She said, her gaze darkening dangerously. "The princess will never be Queen, not if the monarchs want her to live."

Elsa didn't have enough information to deduce the entire plot, or even guess at _who_ were the ones responsible for this decision, but from what she'd just heard she could deduce two things: it was of common knowledge amongst the people of Arendelle and… it involved a deal with her parents. A deal that, going by the confident smile in the woman's face, had already been made long ago.

She needed to get to the palace and talk to her parents as soon as possible.

The princess got up suddenly, startling the woman and the few people close to them, before mumbling something about having to pee and running out of the bar without even bothering to leave a tip. And she ran towards the palace as fast as she could. She needed answers, and she needed them _now_.

* * *

 **A/N: I know it's been way to long, and I do apologize, but I've been busy with school and my other fanfic. And the Elsanna week. And I had writer's block, so… yeah. Sorry.**

 **If you liked this chapter, please leave a review and follow or favorite if you haven't. It'd really help to motivate me to get the next chapter done sooner :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	17. The escape

**Chapter 17: The escape.**

Eighteen years – Fifteen years.

Elsa stormed into the palace, not even trying to be subtle, and not caring whether her parents found out about her little escapade or not. Some guards tried to stop her, since they did not recognize her in masculine clothing, but she simply knocked them back with her powers, at which point they cowered or fled in fear. She ignored them all and kept walking towards her father's study.

Yes, it was very early in the morning, so there was a possibility he wasn't there, but it wasn't unusual for him to fall asleep in there instead of his bedroom. Though, on the slight chance that he had somehow discovered Elsa wasn't asleep in her room, he would have coordinated the search efforts from his study. So he was probably there right now, still working on one issue or another.

She didn't expect, however, to run into Anna and Percival as soon as she stepped into the royal wing. It was a very unusual occurrence to see them together, much less at literally _three_ in the morning, so she was more than a little startled by their presence.

"Anna? Percival? What are you doing here?" She questioned, having stopped dead in her tracks.

"Elsa?!" Anna exclaimed, looking at her boyish clothes as if they were an egregious offense against humanity. "What are you wearing? Father will get mad if he sees you!"

"Where have you been? I've been searching for you all night." Percival said in a chastising tone, completely ignoring Anna's comment.

"Where have _I_ been? Where have _you_ been?!" Elsa retorted, looking at him with murderous eyes, suddenly remembering why she was mad at him. "I could have used your help a couple of days ago, when I was locked away in a cell. Yet despite your supposed devotion, you didn't even bother searching for your 'goddess'." She drew invisible quotes in the air as she said the last word.

"Your father said he'd sent you to live with some relatives for a while as punishment." Percival shrugged. "I wasn't going to leave Arendelle to save you from some crazy aunt."

At his reply, all Elsa wanted to do was punch him for being so stupid, yell the truth at him and then maybe freeze the entire castle solid, but she knew she couldn't do that. _Yet._ No, she needed answers. Answers that only her parents could provide, and attacking her suitor wouldn't help her obtain those answers. She'd deal with Percival later.

"Whatever." She growled. "I'm going to see my father. Continue doing… whatever it is that you were doing." And with that, she pushed past them to continue towards the king's study… or tried to anyways, since two pairs of arms held her back before she could take another step.

"What are you doing?! Let me go!" She demanded, trying to get free, but both Anna and the prince pushed her back and stood in front of her, blocking her way.

"Father will punish you if he knows you went out so late in the night, wearing _boys' clothes_ no less!" Anna argued. "You need to get back to your room before he finds out."

"He'll find out anyways. I better tell him myself." Elsa shrugged and tried to push past them again, but they blocked her path.

"You're not ready to confront him, Elsa." Percival tried to make her see reason. "Your training isn't over, and your powers are still rather unpredictable. In a real fight, we don't know what could happen. _Please_. If you could just wait a few more months…"

" _Months_?!" Elsa all but screamed. "You want me to be here, taking all this abuse and neglect without saying nothing or fighting back, FOR MONTHS?" Percival actually took a step back at Elsa's murderous look. "NO. No. I'm tired of this. I'm tired of acting like a good little girl, because I'm _not_." She tried to hold back the tears, but she was too shaken and angry at the moment to do it successfully, partially because of what she'd heard earlier at the bar, but mostly because of her one-week imprisonment. "I'm tired of the lies and the secrets." She added, wiping her tears. "And I'm not going to just keep enduring all of this if at the end there's nothing in it for me."

"I understand." Anna said in what she hoped was a placating manner, but she was trembling a little too much because of the cold to sound reassuring. "But you can't just storm into father's studio and yell at him. Do you have any idea of what happened the last time you did that?" Now Anna's voice sounded somewhat angry and broken, and once more Elsa got mad at her for acting like she was the victim here.

"Believe me, I have better knowledge of that than you do." Elsa muttered, clenching her fists and trying not to let out any more ice; an area of about six feet around her was already covered in frost.

"Really?" Anna replied, frowning angrily and crossing her arms over her chest. "Did you know I'm marrying Hans?"

"W-what?!" Elsa shrieked, not having expected that _at all_ , and not quite understanding what it had to do with what she'd told her father the other day. "But you don't even like that asshole!"

"Arendelle can't afford going to war with the Southern Iles, much less when they have so many allies." Percival explained, finally contributing to the conversation. "After you froze the prince's arm, the only way to preserve the peace between the two kingdoms would be by an arranged marriage between him and Anna." He didn't look very concerned about all of this, like it was just a minor inconvenience, but Elsa was. She was utterly and terribly mad at herself because now that she knew she was the reason Anna was so devastatingly angry and sad at the same time.

The younger princess had always dreamt of a fairytale-like romance; falling in love with a handsome and warm-hearted gentleman that would swipe her off her feet and treat her like a true princess. And she'd thought she'd found that kind of love in Kristoff. All her dreams, all her hopes and expectations of happiness, relied on her marring the boy she claimed she loved. And though Elsa didn't necessarily approve, she at least would have preferred to see her sister happy with someone that would treat her well. And Kristoff was a thousand times better than Anna being married against her will to some jerk prince.

In that moment, she hated herself more than ever. All she'd ever wanted was to be the reason of Anna's smiles, and yet now she was the very cause of her suffering.

… Or maybe not.

After all, she wasn't the one forcing her to marry Hans, right? And, if she was given free reign, the war with the Southern Iles would be over in the blink of an eye (not even their entire army could compete with her powers, unrestrained and unleashed). No; all of Anna's suffering, as well as hers, was caused by two people: their parents. Mostly their dad, but their mother was also to blame for standing by and doing nothing.

Well, now she had two things to fight for instead of one: Anna's right to marry whoever she wanted, and her throne.

"No, Elsa, don't even think about it!" Anna said, sensing her sister's intentions, and trying to once again block her path, only to be thrown against the wall by a powerful blast of cold wind, leaving Elsa's path down the hallway open. "You'll only make everything worse! Father will be so mad at you!" She screamed as she ran after her, slipping a bit thanks to the ice.

"Anna is right, you know? You need to be more prudent." Percival said, also following her but with a calmer attitude than Anna.

"I've been prudent for far too long." Elsa replied as she pretty much ran towards her destination.

"Prudent?" Anna almost laughed at that, if she hadn't been busy trying not to fall as she attempted to run on the ice. "You call freezing Hans' arm _prudent_? It had to be amputated, you know?"

"Good. He deserved it." She answered through gritted teeth.

"And just who are you to decide that?" Anna spat back. "You're just a selfish teenage girl who thinks she is ready to rule a kingdom, and yet can't bring yourself to look beyond her own nose!"

"And you're just an annoying little princess that can't seem to think of anything except romance and fairytales."

"T-that's not…" Anna was about to protest once again, when she noticed they had almost arrived at their father's studio. And, if she didn't want her sister to be punished once again (at least not more than usual), she needed to do something _fast_. "Wait!" She yelled, but Elsa didn't stop, and was about to reach the door, when Anna said the first thing that came to her mind. "At least change your clothes first. If father sees you like that, he won't even let you speak."

Elsa paused at her words. Not because she was considering changing before entering the studio (even if she knew Anna was totally right), but because she was tired of her annoying voice and her stupid words. Thankfully, she had just thought of a plan to shut her up.

She smirked evilly at the thought, and then put it in action. She waved her hand and, slowly, ice started forming over her clothes, starting from her shoes, up her pants, her shirt and everything else, replacing the clothing and transforming her peasant-boy costume into a beautiful ice gown. If a little masculine, perhaps, but still stunning.

The dress itself had a dark turquoise color, and showed off her ample blossom, accentuated by a tight blue ribbon underneath her chest. The sleeves were long, made of almost transparent ice, and loose fitting. Over it all, she was wearing some kind of vest, of a blue so light it seemed almost white, with some blue swirling patterns as decoration, and she also had a long cape trailing behind her.

She knew she had to be a sight to behold the moment she saw Anna's eyes widen and her mouth fall open, speechless at the sight of Elsa. Even if this was the first time she'd magically conjured clothing, she had a pretty good idea of how she looked (she'd imagine it thousands of times, after all); like a Queen of ice and snow. All that was missing was an ice crown, but she figured that was a little too much. She did take off her hat though.

And so, leaving a speechless Anna behind, she opened the door to the king's studio and stepped in.

"Elsa! What are you doing here?" The king gasped once his daughter entered his studio unannounced. "You should be in your room, you shouldn't…"

"I need answers. And I need them _now_." Elsa interrupted him, crossing her arms over her chest in an authoritarian manner, which was ironic since she technically didn't have any authority over her father.

"What are you even wearing?" He asked, eying her ice dress like he had just realized it was made by magic and intended to punish his daughter for that. He obviously didn't care about what Elsa had just said. Not that she expected him to.

"Elsa!" Anna broke in too, preventing her from speaking, and then stopped when she saw the king, still in his studio despite the late hour. "I'm sorry father, I told her not to disturb you." She said with a little bow. "Come on, Elsa, let's go to your room." She said to her sister, grabbing her arm and intending to pull her out of there, but the older girl didn't move an inch.

"Anna?" The king was now even more confused. "What are you doing here? You should be sleeping."

"I-I…" She bit her lip, unwilling to tell him she'd noticed her sister wasn't in her room and had spent the entire night searching for her around the castle, with Percival's help. Surely, Elsa would get in trouble for that.

"Doesn't matter." Elsa dismissed the subject with a wave of her hand before yanking her arm off her sister's grip and advancing until she was in front of her father's desk, looking down at him with all the hate she no longer cared to conceal. "What matters is that I have some questions and you are going to answer every last one of them, or else…" A long and sharp knife suddenly materialized in her hand, and she wasted no time pressing it against her father's throat, to the horror of her little sister, who gasped and backed up in fear, almost falling down.

"No, Elsa, don't do this!" She pleaded. "This is not who you are."

"Oh, but it is." The older girl smirked, watching her father swallow in fear when the knife drew some blood. "I'm the child of the prophecy, am I not father? I'm a witch, a monster that needs to be locked in a cell to rot for all eternity." She pretty much spat those words with a snarl, barely containing herself from pressing the knife harder against her father's skin. "That's how you've always seen me, and that's what I'm giving you now."

"What is it that you want to know?" The king asked with a clear scowl on his face, trying to regain his composure and not show how afraid of his daughter he really was. "Surely it must be important enough to commit treason against your own king. Your own _father_."

"It is." Elsa answered with a scowl that mirrored the king's, before asking her question. "Earlier tonight I heard a rumor. At first I didn't want to believe it because I thought you'd never do something like that without telling me, but… after all you've done to me, it doesn't really surprise me that much." She paused, noticing the ice crawling up the walls and trying to control herself. She only managed to slow it down a little though. "Is it true I'll never be Queen? Did you make a deal with someone so that I would never be allowed to take the throne?"

"Where did you hear that?" He asked, clearly surprised.

"Answer the question." She snarled, drawing even more blood from his neck.

"Elsa…" Anna tried to interfere again, but the older princess glared at her with such hatred that she shut up instantly, afraid she'd turn her into an icicle or something.

"Well?" Elsa prompted again, and her father sighed knowing he had no choice but to answer, if he wanted to live.

"It's true." He nodded. "There was probably going to be a revolt if I didn't accept, ending in lots of beheading of nobles and royalty. Like the french one." He grimaced. "But some noblemen managed to appease the people before anything serious started, and came to talk to me. They offered me a lot of money, together with the promise to spare all of our lives, if I designated Anna as the next-in-line to the throne."

"And of course you accepted without even telling me a thing." Elsa said in an accusatory manner. She'd expected that answer, but it still hurt her deeply knowing no one wanted her as Queen, and her father had been all too happy to deny her her birthright at the first opportunity.

"I knew you'd react like this." He tried to defend himself. "And you were too young anyways."

"… What?" Elsa was legitimately surprised by what his father had just said. She'd assumed the deal had occurred only recently, maybe a couple of years ago, but… just how long had they lied to her? All her life? "When did you make that deal?"

"I don't remember." Her father shrugged, as if it wasn't important to him at all. "Shortly after you killed that peasant boy."

"But… that was over five years ago!" Elsa exclaimed, berating herself for not having noticed it sooner. "We didn't even have suitors back then." And that's when she paused, realizing the answer to something she had always wondered. "That's why Anna had three times more suitors than I did, isn't it? It wasn't just because of my powers or my hostility; other kingdoms don't believe in the prophecy, after all."

"Yes. They all knew." Her father confirmed. "Only you were kept on the dark about this."

"Why?!" She yelled, furious about what she'd just learned, but her anger wasn't directed to her father, because she had expected such a thing from him. "Why couldn't you just tell me?" Her sister visibly flinched when Elsa turned to glare at her. "You knew too, didn't you?!"

"I-I… I'm sorry, I-I just…" Anna was terrified. The woman in front of her was completely and utterly furious, with a blood-covered knife in her hand and ice magic at the point of her fingertips. She could kill her in a second if she wanted. And it did look like she wanted.

"Why, Anna? Why would you, of all people, betray me?!" Elsa yelled at her again, but this time Anna was able to see behind the anger. Her sister's anger was to hide how broken she was on the inside. Elsa was fighting, and losing, the urge to cry as tears began sliding down her cheeks. It made the younger princess feel guilty. "Did you want the throne? Is that why you agreed to lie to me?"

"W-what? No! I don't want the throne. I've never wanted to be Queen." Anna replied honestly, offended that Elsa would think such a thing of her. "But I promised papa I would. For your safety."

"For my safety?" Elsa scoffed. "Or because you always do whatever our parents say?" Anna frowned and was going to protest at that, but Elsa kept talking. "You even agreed to marry that bastard that wanted to use me as a weapon, just because papa said so. If he told you to pierce my heart with a dagger I bet you'd do it!"

"Elsa, that's terrible!" Anna protested, getting angry at her sister's hurtful words. Though a small part of her knew what Elsa was saying was at least partially true.

"You know what? I don't care." At this, Elsa dropped the knife and started walking towards the door. "I don't want to have anything to do with you ever again. Either of you." She gave a pointed look to her father before looking again at her sister. "I'm going somewhere far away, where I can be free. Where I can build my own kingdom, and rule as Queen." Then her gaze darkened, and she whispered the last words in a very menacing tone. "Even if I have to destroy Arendelle."

"Elsa, no, don't do this!" Anna pleaded, rushing to her side and trying to grab her hands, but Elsa pulled away. "Please, don't go away!"

"She won't be going anywhere." The king's voice made both girls turn to look at him, now standing next to his desk. "Because I've called the guards." He smirked, showing a cord he had in his studio for situations just like this one. Elsa wasn't sure how it worked, but apparently pulling it would tell the guards he was in danger. "I had hoped to avoid using that cell again, but you give me no choice. I'm very disappointed in you, Elsa."

But he didn't sound disappointed at all. In fact, it looked like he'd been expecting this moment for a long time. The moment he'd get to capture the witch, be proclaimed a hero and deny the prophecy, even if said witch was his own daughter.

"No, father! Let's be reasonable about this." Anna pleaded, afraid of what could happen to her sister.

"Forget it, Anna. He's a cruel man, and he'll never change." Elsa said, glaring at her father once more before bolting out of the room. She could hear the guard's steps, but they were still far away, so maybe she'd be able to get out of the palace before they caught up to her. Plus, the ice was making the floor slippery, which would hopefully slow them down.

However, when she started to descend the stairs that would bring her to the main entrance of the castle, she heard voices coming from there as well. Probably more guards. Therefore, she turned around to find another way, but collided with someone. Before she could conjure ice and attack the person, however, she noticed it was Anna.

She had followed her.

"Anna? What are you doing?" Elsa asked, not having expected her to be there.

"I won't let them kill you, or lock you away or whatever. I'm here to help you." She said with determination. She refused to believe her sister was a monster, and she'd prove it to everyone else.

"Help me escape then." Elsa said before taking her hand and dragging her upstairs, frantically trying to remember another way out. If her memory wasn't failing, she thought she'd seen a way out through the kitchen. And… probably the stables. And there was another one at the back of the castle, wasn't there? But how could she get there without being spotted?

"Here." Anna said, pulling her down a hallway that Elsa didn't quite recognize. "We have to get to the stables."

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Elsa asked doubtful, and briefly wondered if her little sister was, in fact, leading her to a trap.

"Of course." Anna scoffed. "I've lived here all my life too, remember? And I know every single way out, because I'm always trying to escape."

But just as they rounded a corner to take another set of stairs, they saw a bunch of guards heading towards them. Elsa had to hastily create a wall of ice so their crossbow bolts wouldn't hit them, but she knew it wouldn't last long against their swords, so they started running in another direction.

"Just how many guards did he send after me?" Elsa exclaimed, exasperated. "Looks like he was expecting something like this to happen."

"Maybe he was." Anna admitted, even if she wasn't happy about it. "He knows you well." Elsa was going to protest, saying that the man knew nothing about her at all, when her younger sister led her up another set of stairs.

"What are you doing? We need to go _down_ , not up." Elsa protested.

"There's another way out through a painting. A secret passage, if you want to call it that." Anna informed her. "I haven't used it in years, but I think father doesn't know about it."

Elsa sighed, but followed her obediently; after all, she was her best chance of getting out unharmed. True, she could just confront the guards and make her way out purely through brute force but… she really didn't want to take her chances, and she didn't know how many men were after her. It _was_ possible she wouldn't be able to handle all of them before they managed to take her down.

When they found the painting Anna was talking about though, in one of the castle's towers, the redhead got it off the wall to presumably reveal a door… and discovered the way was blocked. A large pile of rocks had been stacked there to form an improvised barrier behind the door.

"Apparently… he does know about this passage." Anna sighed, biting her lip and feeling quite guilty. She'd just managed to get them both farther away from any possible route of escape.

"Move." Elsa ordered, unwilling to give up now; this passage was probably her best chance to escape. Once Anna had taken a few steps back, Elsa focused all her anger, all her sadness and all her frustration, and harvested it to fuel her magic. A blast more powerful than any other she'd conjured shot from her hands, and shattered the rocks. As expected, they turned to dust with a loud crack, and revealed… more rocks behind them.

"Fuck!" Anna exclaimed. She had really hoped Elsa's magic would be able to open up the passage, but rocks were always stronger than ice, weren't they? And her father had probably filled the whole passage with them.

But Elsa refused to give up just yet, and was preparing another blast of magic, when they heard voices and hurried steps surprisingly close to where they were. The guards were in the tower.

"They must have heard it." Elsa said, the realization that she shouldn't have done such a reckless display of magic downing in. "Is there another way out of here?" She asked, turning to Anna with a panicked expression, but the girl just shook her head with an apologetic look on her face.

"There's only one set of stairs that leads here." She revealed, regretting having chosen to go to that tower. "Now we can only go up."

Not wasting an instant, and with the guards closing in on them every second, Elsa took her hand once more and started running upstairs, trying to think of a plan other than just freezing the floor and hoping they'd slip, or creating a wall of ice to slow them down for a few seconds. She decided their best chance was getting to the top and finding a way down, maybe by creating ice stairs. She didn't want to mercilessly kill a bunch of men in front of her little sister, after all.

Once they'd gotten to the top, she opened the doors and walked outside, before shutting them and freezing them closed. When that had been taken care of, she turned around and started looking for a way to get down. She saw the roof of the castle a few meters below them, and decided she could create some ice stairs to get there, but… Anna would probably slip and fall to her death.

They could also jump and land in the courtyard, where she could create snow to soften their fall. But she really didn't want to put Anna in danger. And if she kept her with her, the princess would surely end up getting hurt.

This needed to be their goodbye.

Elsa felt a pang of pain in her chest. She didn't want to say goodbye. Not yet. She wasn't ready; she loved Anna. Despite everything, she knew she could never stop loving her. And yet… a part of her had always knew this day would come. They were too different, and if there was such a thing as destiny, it was probably also very different for them. They were not meant to be together, simple as that.

She turned to look at her sister, already feeling a weight crushing her chest at the mere thought of their departure, but… when she looked at Anna's saddened gaze, and knew she had come to the same conclusion, she decided she couldn't just leave her like that. Sure, if she took her with her, they'd always be on the run. They had to leave Arendelle if they hoped to even have some semblance of a normal life, but… it was better than to leave her here, at the mercy of her parents, to marry that bastard. She at least had to ask her to come with her.

"Anna?" She called her with a soft voice.

"Y-yeah?" She answered, swallowing the lump that had formed in her throat. She wasn't good at goodbyes.

"Would you come with me?" She asked, trying not to get her hopes too high, but it did show on her face how much she wanted Anna to accept.

"What?" Anna asked, thinking for a moment that she'd heard wrong.

"Please, there's nothing here for you." The older princess tried to convince her as she took her hands in an attempt to connect with her. "Father will force you to marry Hans, you'll lose Kristoff, you'll be expected to be queen, obey Hans and give him heirs. You won't be happy here."

"I know." Anna answered with a shuddering voice. Her lips trembled and her eyes were moist with tears. She knew all Elsa had said was true, and yet she already knew her answer. "But Elsa… I can't."

"What do you mean you can't? Of course you can!" Elsa exclaimed, tightening her grip on her hands. It hurt her to see her sister crying like this, and knowing she'd suffer more in the future just made her blood boil. But Anna just shook her head, looked down and closed her eyes as tears rolled down her cheeks.

"This is not just about me." She said between sobs, now looking at her sister with her tear-filled eyes. "It's about the kingdom. They need a queen, whether I like it or not. And if I don't marry Hans, there'll be a war with the Southern Iles."

"But Anna…" Elsa tried to protest, but her sister quickly interrupt her.

"Please, I've already made my mind. Don't make this more difficult." She practically whispered, tears still falling from her eyes.

"Is… this really what you want?" Elsa asked unsure, reaching up wipe a falling drop on her cheek.

"No." Anna answered honestly. "But it's what's necessary."

"Okay then." Elsa sighed, having expected that answer. "I just hope that you're happy with this decision." She didn't even notice, but tears had started to fall from her eyes too at Anna's response.

"You too." Anna gave her a sad smile. "I hope you don't come to regret this, and that… maybe one day, we'll see each other again."

"We will. I promise." She said before she could think better of it, earning a small smile from Anna in return.

Suddenly though, they heard people coming from the stairs, and they were approaching fast. That's when they knew it. It was time.

"You need to go." Anna prompted her. " _Now._ "

"I know, just…" Elsa looked down to the roof of the castle, and then back at Anna, like she knew she should go in that very instant, and yet refused to let go of her sister, knowing she most likely would never see her again.

"Elsa." Anna insisted with urgency on her voice. "Please, I don't want you to get killed."

"I won't." Elsa said, caressing softly her wet cheeks, wanting to be with her until the last possible second.

"I love you, Elsa." Anna sobbed.

"I love you too." She answered with a sad smile.

In that moment, they heard some rather loud hits against the door, and knew it wouldn't hold much longer, even if it was encased in ice. And so, Elsa did the only thing she needed to do before she was ready to run away: kiss Anna.

It was brief, yet passionate. Elsa pressed her lips strongly, almost roughly, against Anna's, holding her in place with her hands. And the redhead didn't resist; too stunned to do anything. Of course, she didn't return the kiss either. It wasn't perfect, and it was a little bitter because of the circumstances, but the older princess knew she'd treasure it all her life, because it was probably the last kiss she'd ever share with Anna.

When she finally let go of her, instead of immediately escaping, however, Elsa conjured a snowflake pendant and put it on Anna's hand.

"This will help you remember me." She whispered quickly, and then let go of her.

Anna missed the touch instantly, but knew she couldn't protest because in that moment, the guards burst through the door.

She had expected Elsa to, maybe, create a stairwell to get to the roof, and make her descent from there, which was dangerous enough as it was, but what she did was a lot more reckless; She stood at the railing, facing the guards with an evil smirk, that didn't look so convincing considered her face showed clear signs of her having been crying just seconds ago.

"There she is!" One of them yelled, pointing his crossbow at her. "Shoot to kill; she's too dangerous to be left alive."

"You're right." Elsa said darkly. "I _am_ the witch of the prophecy after all. What are you gonna do about it?"

"Fire!" He yelled, and the men prepared to shoot.

"No!" Anna screamed, rushing to maybe intercept the arrows… but, to her surprise, no arrows flew in Elsa's direction. And just then she noticed Elsa had frozen them to the crossbows, which was probably why she was wearing that arrogant smirk.

"No one can stop me, not even a wizard could. And certainly _not_ ordinary men like you." Elsa spat at them. "Tell this to your king before he wastes all your lives for naught." And with that, she jumped off the railing.

"Elsa! No!" Anna yelled as she rushed to look over said railing, expecting to see her sister's corpse resting at the base of the tower… but what she saw was something much more pleasant and majestic; a bird. Not any bird either: an eagle. And it was enormous! And… it was made of ice and snow. And her sister was riding it.

The sight took her breath away.

"That said…" Elsa said, hovering just a few meters above them, wearing an amused expression, no doubt because the guards were just as astounded by her creation as Anna was. "Inform him that he'll find me at the North Mountain, if he really insists on pursuing me."

And with that, she flew off to the north, her shining white figure a clear contrast against the black sky of night.

What worried Anna though, was the trail of snowflakes that she left behind, and the clear decrease of temperature that was felt as soon as she parted. Her sister had just turned summer into winter.

* * *

 **A/N: Hi! It's been a long time, hasn't it? Well, I'm sorry, but as you may know, I also have some other fanfics to work on XD. Also, this was a long chapter, and the last one of book 2, so I wanted to take my time and do it right. I hope you like it and, if you did, please leave a review or fav/follow if you haven't. Till next time :)**

 **And, if you want to see a drawing I made of this chapter (the kissing scene), you can find it on my Tumblr or my DeviantArt, TaniaHylian.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	18. The Queen of Arendelle

**Book 3: Adulthood.**

 **Chapter 18: The Queen of Arendelle.**

Twenty four years – Twenty one years.

Anna was sitting at a large table, silent and motionless, while the council and her husband made important decisions about her kingdom. She was there because she was the Queen, but she rarely spoke, and when she did no one listened. Yes, she was the Queen, but that didn't mean she had even a shred of actual power.

Ever since her parents had died, three years ago, shortly before she married Hans, she had been the Queen of Arendelle. Normally, the council would have ruled the kingdom until she was of age, at twenty one, but with Hans being her husband _and_ twenty five years old, _he_ was of age to become King. And so, she became Queen alongside him. Plus, it's not like they could really afford being without a monarch when the situation of the Kingdom was precarious, at best.

Ever since Elsa had run away, they hadn't seen the sun once. They hadn't felt warmth or been able to see the flowers bloom in summer. But more importantly, they couldn't grow anything in their fields, and they couldn't trade with kingdoms overseas. The fjord was frozen and no ship could leave their shores or come to trade. Arendelle had become a frozen wasteland. The prophecy had come true.

And her parents… her parents were long dead.

Shortly before her wedding, everything had gotten worse. There were huge snowstorms every night, people died in the streets with no fire to fight off the cold, and many starved to death due to a lack of food to eat. Many disappeared in the storms that ravaged the mountains, which was a problem because now that was their only trade route and way to supply themselves with vital food and fuel. And… they had gotten a message from her sister. No, she was not her sister anymore. Her sister wouldn't kill hundreds of innocents in a tantrum. Her sister wouldn't ask for her in exchange to sparing the rest of the kingdom.

Of course, her father hadn't accepted and, in an attempt to solve the entire problem once and for all, had gone to the North Mountain, where Elsa's ice palace rested proudly on top. He had hoped to make her see reason, maybe. Or maybe he had just wanted to kill her and end it all. At the end, however, he died. And the Queen followed him soon after.

Fortunately, the storms had receded a bit after that. But the situation was still pretty bad.

However, with no other option that could help her people, she'd married Hans and became the new Queen. Marrying him had brought access to the resources of the Southern Isles, finally giving her a way to help her people. And ever since their wedding, her husband and her council had been trying to capture and kill Elsa, but they weren't any closer than before. Every group of soldiers they'd sent had been found dead, either frozen to death by sheer cold, or slain by the Ice Queen's own hand. The few spies that had made it back hadn't even been able to come close to the ice palace, and what they reported wasn't of much help. And the only citizens that claimed to have seen Elsa didn't have any useful information either.

Anna didn't know what to feel about this. Part of her wanted to hate Elsa, to wish she was dead, like everyone else in Arendelle did. And why shouldn't she? Elsa had killed her parents, destroyed her kingdom and murdered hundreds, seemingly without remorse, but… could she really blame her? It's not like she was ever loved by their parents, or anyone else for that matter. Everyone had always seen her as a monster, so in the end she had become one.

No. She should stop thinking like that. Elsa had chosen to rebel against their father, to flee the kingdom and curse Arendelle to suffer an eternal winter. It was her choice, so she had to face the consequences; having been declared a traitor and a menace, and sentenced to death.

Not that she was glad about it. She'd prefer to lock Elsa in the dungeons, if possible, but… the decision wasn't truly hers. Plus, it was unlikely Elsa would ever be caught, so…

"Your majesty?" Lord Thranson said, startling Anna and making her realize, once she saw the eyes of everyone upon her, that she had been asked something.

"I-I'm sorry, what?" The young redhead asked.

"I don't know why she insists on coming to these meetings if she won't even pay attention." Another one of the lords muttered angrily, and though Anna would've liked to pretend she didn't care, she couldn't help frowning at that and looking down in shame.

"Please, Lord Norburg." Hans interfered. "I was the one who insisted Anna shouldn't be excluded from our meetings. She's the Queen, after all." He said, placing his only hand on Anna's shoulder, an action that the queen actually found quite comforting. Ever since her parents had died, Hans had been the only one left who cared for her in the slightest.

"Thank you, Hans, but I really should have been paying attention." Anna answered, giving her husband a smile that he promptly returned. "Now, what did you asked me?" She then said, addressing the rest of her council.

"We were just discussing the possibility of sending you to see the Ice Queen." Hans said casually. His wife just stared at him for a few seconds, before the words finally sank in and her eyes widened.

"Wait, what?!" She exclaimed, looking alternatively between all the men in the room, hoping this was some sort of twisted joke. However, all their faces remained calm and unmoved. "You can't be serious!" She shouted, both afraid and enraged that they were even considering the idea. "Every person we've sent to kill her has died, even my father! Going would be suicide!"

"That's true." Hans agreed, standing up and starting to pace around the table as he spoke. "But you're not like them. You're possibly the only person Elsa still loves, or at least _wants_." He paused, looking her directly in her eyes, and making very clear what he meant with that word. "You're her sister, her only family, and she's been asking for you for years."

At first, Anna didn't know how to respond. She'd like to say she was sure that Elsa still loved her, and surely wouldn't hurt her. They _were_ sisters. They had been so close. Elsa had loved her very much, up until she left but… she had changed. She was a monster now, a murderer. She'd killed her own father, so what was stopping her from killing her little and stupid sister who chose the kingdom over her? But of course, she'd never admit her fears out loud. She was the only one in that room that still believed Elsa might have some spark of humanity within her, after all. If she admitted her sister was a monster… who knew what kinds of things they'd try to do?

"Of course, the decision is yours." Hans shrugged, when she didn't respond after a few seconds. "But take the kingdom into consideration. We, as monarchs, have to do what's best for everyone."

"W-what exactly am I supposed to do when I find her?" Anna asked, mostly to gain some time, but also to be able to make a more informed decision.

"Talk to her." He answered, and Anna couldn't tell if he was being honest or not. "Ask her to stop this winter. Negotiate."

"And if she doesn't want to?" Everyone stayed silent at that, but in their faces, Anna could read the answer. It wasn't an answer that she liked, but it was the answer that she'd expected. She would have refused, if she thought she had an option. But she knew better. "Okay. I'll go."

* * *

"Take care." Hans said before briefly kissing her lips.

"I will." Anna promised, giving him a forced smile as she felt dread settling in her stomach. She knew she was probably going to her death, but she didn't have a choice. As queen, it was her duty to at least _try_. She wouldn't be able to live with herself if she spent her life hiding behind her palace's walls while her people suffered and died at the hands of her sister. So, if her sacrifice appeased the Ice Queen, she was willing to do it. Of course, that didn't mean that she liked it.

"Please, take this." He handed her a dagger. It was a beautiful dagger, with a golden handle and a hilt with the shape of Arendelle's crocus, and a green sheath with depictions of wild flowers. But it was still a dagger, and it was meant to be used for killing.

"I won't kill my sister." Anna protested, though she knew it was useless.

"Of course you won't. It's… just in case." He insisted, still holding up the dagger for her to take. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Elsa may be the Ice Queen, but she's still my sister. She would never hurt me." Anna answered unconvincingly, but she still took the dagger.

"I hope you're right." He said, before giving her one last kiss and helping her on the horse.

 _No, you don't._

Hans wasn't precisely a terrible husband. Despite what Anna had expected, he'd actually treated pretty decently ever since her sister had ran away. But… they'd already been married for three years, and though they slept together every night since, Anna still hadn't been able to give him even one heir. They'd consulted doctors, priests and even witches, but not one of them had been able to give them a convincing answer as to _why_ Anna couldn't have children, except that the queen was infertile.

Ever since, there had been rumors regarding Hans. They said he'd been sleeping with other women and blatantly courting others. Plus, he'd been treating her differently. Colder. He wanted an heir, that much was clear, and Anna couldn't give him one. But he couldn't take a new wife if his current wife was still alive; that's why he'd agreed to the council's insane idea. At least, that was the only explanation Anna had thought of.

It hurt, but not so much. It's not like she loved him. She tolerated him, and he tolerated her, and in front of everyone else they pretended to be a happy couple. Now, if she died, the lies would die with her. And if instead she managed to kill her sister… well, she'd probably take her life after that. She didn't want to live if she had Elsa's blood on her hands.

Either way, she'd die. Her only chance of living was making a deal with Elsa to leave Arendelle alone. She just wondered what her sister would request in exchange.

But as always, she remained quiet and acted like she was supposed to, smiling to her husband and pretending she'd miss him, assuring him that she'd be back soon, safe and sound. Even when they both knew she wouldn't.

After Anna had again said goodbye to everyone who had attended to her departure, and the four guards that would escort her to the North Mountain had assured Hans time and time again that they'd keep her safe, they finally left.

It was a cold morning, it was snowing lightly and the streets were empty. All the people were probably in their houses, trying to warm up by the fire if they still had some wood left. Anna would have been doing the same if she hadn't been on a suicide mission.

It made her wonder what had possessed her into accepting this. It wasn't only the duty she felt to her kingdom, or even the desire to be the hero who would put an end to this winter; she knew her chances of success were next to none. No, she'd agreed because she was sick of her life. She hated being just a pretty thing that was merely there to please and serve the King. She hated being treated like a useless child by her own council. She hated being insulted by ungrateful Arendellian citizens that thought she was doing nothing for them.

But what hurt most was that they were right; she did nothing. She was the Queen of Arendelle, but she was completely useless and powerless. Even Elsa, living in total isolation in her ice palace, was probably more powerful than her. _Happier_ than her.

Maybe this mission, as suicidal as it was, would give her a purpose in life. Maybe it made her feel useful for once. Even if she died, she'd help the kingdom. She had to. She didn't want to be remembered as The Useless Queen.

* * *

 **A/N: It's been quite a while, right? I'm sorry. I got injured while fencing and couldn't really write for quite some time (without hurting myself further, at least), but I expect that the next updates won't take so long. I hope you liked this chapter, and please leave a review if you did. It'll encourage me to write more! :D**

 **Also, please check the new cover of this fic on my Tumblr or DeviantArt (my username is TaniaHylian).**

 **Thank you, and I hope to see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	19. Reencounter

**Chapter 19: Reencounter.**

After paying Oaken, a merchant the size of a mountain that had a cabin in the northern woods, and thanking him for the amazing service he'd given them, Anna continued on her journey. Her guards were still with her, but they seemed more nervous than she would have liked. They were very young too; probably new recruits that had had the bad luck of being picked up by their superiors to accompany her to the Ice Queen's frozen realm. She was sure none of the higher officers had been eager to take on the task.

Anyways. It's not like it mattered. No one ever got beyond the edges of the North Mountain, and so she'd decided since before she got up from bed that morning that she'd tell them to leave her there; where the cold got colder and the ice grew large and menacing. Where the storm was worse. If there was a limit to her sister's "kingdom" that was it; the edges of the North Mountain.

She wasn't that far away now; the previous day she'd made some good progress, and by twilight she should be arriving at her sister's place. That is, assuming she didn't perish of hypothermia first.

At least the sled was more comfortable. Yes, they'd had to switch their horses for a reindeer-pulled sled, because otherwise the horses would have died of sheer cold. Reindeers were fluffier, and stronger. They'd take them to their destiny.

Most of the day, Anna spent looking at the frozen landscape and hearing the conversations between her guards. Since she was the queen, no one would talk to her (out of respect or because they were too intimidated, she didn't know), and so she was forced to be solely a spectator. She fell asleep multiple times, more out of boredom than because she was really tired, and by the midday she started wishing they were attacked by a pack of wolves, or a ferocious bear. Maybe even one of her sister's snow monsters! But no. Everything was pretty uneventful… that is, until they got closer to the North Mountain.

The whole journey the temperature had been fiercely cold. In a "winter is here" kind of cold. It was uncomfortable, and her nose and fingers felt like they would turn blue at any moment, but it was nothing extreme (at least by Arendelle's standards), and her winter clothes kept her protected enough. But it all changed as they left the forest behind and found themselves in a snowy wasteland.

The change was sudden and instantaneous, like the temperature had dropped 30 degrees in an instant. When Anna inhaled, the air itself felt like it froze her insides. When she exhaled, the tiny clouds of mist instantly turned into dozens of snowflakes. In her skin, very small crystals of ice started forming, and her few hairs started to look like miniature icicles. The cold was so intense, she could no longer feel it. She only felt how much it hurt her exposed skin, and was forced to cover her neck and most of her face with a thick knitted scarf. So did her guards.

The reindeers looked like an icy version of giant porcupines, but seemed to be fine nonetheless. However, they still had a hard time convincing them to keep going. Not that they were eager to move either; the sudden drop of temperature was more than enough for Anna to want to turn around and run as fast as possible back to her home. Only her strong sense of duty, and the fact she didn't have anything left back in Arendelle kept her going.

Just a few minutes later, however, they found another obstacle; a line of large icicles, sprouting from the ground, that extended as long as they could see. The guards had to break some with their swords in order to pass through the barrier. And almost as soon as they did just that, a huge blizzard started, the wind roaring with such force they could barely hear each other if they yelled. It was so dense, they almost couldn't see a thing in front of them, and were constantly fighting against said blizzard to advance step by step. It goes without saying that the cold only got worse, to the point Anna's eyes started hurting because of it, and she had to shut them.

It was at that point that she decided there was only one sensible thing to do. Though it terrified her to no end.

"Stop!" She yelled at her guards, and when they didn't hear her because of the roaring wind, she had to do it again, only louder. "Stop!" At this, her guards turned to look at her with what she assumed were concerned expressions, but she couldn't really tell because of their scarfs and hats.

"Is something wrong, my Queen?!" One of them, the oldest, yelled in response.

"You need to go back now!" Anna explained. "It's clear my sister doesn't want you reaching her palace, but she might let me!"

"We won't let a blizzard stop us!" One of them protested. "I'm sure it'll recede soon enough!"

"This is no ordinary blizzard!" The Queen insisted, being absolutely sure of what she was saying. It was too strong and sudden to be a natural occurrence, after all. "It's my sister's magic! She won't let you pass! I have to go alone!"

She hoped she looked surer than she really was. After all, maybe Elsa didn't want _her_ specifically to reach her domains, and being alone in the middle of her blizzard would just kill her before she had even had the opportunity to see Elsa. Or maybe she didn't have a way of knowing who got to the North Mountain, and the blizzard was permanently there, keeping everyone out, which meant Anna would just freeze to death there, like countless others before her. Either way, she decided she didn't want to risk the lives of her guards unnecessarily, even if that meant swallowing the utter terror that invaded her at the prospect of being left alone in such a dangerous environment.

"But… your majesty…" One of them protested weakly, obviously hesitant about the idea of just abandoning their monarch in the middle of a snowstorm, but Anna cut him off by getting up and out of the sled as quickly as possible. She stood there, in front of the sled, looking at her guards with a serious expression.

"I'm grateful that you accompanied me this far." She started her goodbye. "But I knew I'd have to do this alone sooner rather than later. Please, go back to Arendelle now. I can handle it."

They all looked like they still wanted to protest, but Anna just turned around and started walking (with great difficulty) up the mountain. For a few minutes, her guards tried to follow her, but it was soon clear that, while she was allowed to move (rather slowly, but still), they were stuck in their place. So finally, after what to Anna felt like an eternity, her stubborn guards turned around and left. And the storm followed them, proving Anna's theory that Elsa would only let her get through.

Relieved by the fact that it looked like her sister wasn't going to kill her (yet), Anna sighed and decided to continue with her journey, feeling way better now that the air didn't feel so cold and she could open her eyes without feeling like they were being stabbed by microscopic icicles. Now, if she didn't have any more interruptions, she'd probably get to Elsa's ice palace in a few more hours.

However, just when she was taking her first steps (looking directly to the snow-covered ground in order not to fall), she heard a voice coming from someone just ahead of her.

"Hey, Anna. It's been too long, hasn't it?" She looked up startled to look at this person, and was very surprised to find a familiar face staring back at her.

"Percival?" She asked, her eyes widening. "B-but how?! We all thought you were dead! When you disappeared…"

"You really thought I would let Elsa run away alone?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. "Or you just thought she'd kill me?"

"Well…" Anna blushed, unwilling to admit she had bought the rumors that started circulating when the prince had disappeared shortly after her sister's departure. She knew he cared for Elsa, and that he'd even tried to slow down the soldiers that had been sent to capture her, so it wasn't hard to imagine he'd go after her. However, when he never came back, many had just assumed Elsa had killed him, including Anna. He was Elsa's fiancé after all, and she knew just how much her sister hated princes.

"Well, she might kill me now if I don't bring you back to her as soon as possible." Percival spoke after a few seconds. "Come on, I bet you're eager to see her too." That said, he turned around and started walking and, not wanting to be left behind, Anna was quick to follow him.

"How did Elsa know I was coming?" She asked once she caught up to him.

"The snowflake she gave you. You still have it." He explained. And Anna was more than a little surprised he knew about it, much less that she'd decided to bring the pendant to this trip. After all, it was safely tucked in her pocket.

"Can she… sense it or something?" Anna asked, and Percival answered with a nod.

"It's pretty lucky you brought it, or else she would just have sent some snow golems after she felt someone walking into her territory." Anna gulped at his explanation. She had _almost_ left the snowflake, but decided against it, thinking Elsa would be pissed if she didn't see her wearing it. She was now _really_ glad she'd decided to take it with her.

* * *

The rest of the journey was mostly silent, but Anna was barely surprised about this; Percival was never particularly talkative. Not with her anyways. So it was up to her to make a little talk, mostly asking him some questions, like how on Earth they managed to find food around there. Or clothes. Or furniture. Or _anything_ , for that matter. She was disappointed when most of the answers basically came down to "murdering people and stealing their goods".

He was incredibly casual about this too. Not that Anna was all that surprised. Only an evil person would stick with her sister after everything she'd done.

That said, she'd never even suspected Percival was a bad person. He was always a scrawny boy, with a mostly shy attitude and who quite obviously preferred to be left alone. She thought he was very much like her sister in that matter, and that's why she imagined they'd be the perfect couple. Now she thought the same, but for very different reasons. They were both heartless sociopaths who killed without problems.

She felt a chill run down her spine, and not precisely because of the cold. The prospect of being in a giant ice palace in the middle of nowhere at the mercy of two murderers wasn't exactly reassuring.

But she tried not to think too much about it, and instead focused on observing Percival, see how much he had actually changed. The answer at first glance was not much. He was still rather short for a man in his twenties, and though his heavy clothing made him look bulkier, Anna suspected under all those layers of clothes and furs, he was still rather thin. His hair was also still short, if maybe a little messier than she remembered, and he didn't have a beard or mustache; just a few stray hairs here and there. His skin was also now sickly pale, probably due to the cold temperatures, and he had black circles under his eyes.

Anna would have probably worried for him is she hadn't been worried _about_ him. The most notorious change, after all, was that his eyes reflected how twisted his soul really was. His gaze was lost, even when he looked at her, and had a maniac glint that suggested he was imagining bad things. Either that he'd done in the past or that he planned to do in the future. Anna wondered which plans he had for her. And also wondered what Elsa would say about them.

She had so many questions about her sister! Was she the same girl that had fled so many years ago? Did she still love her? Why had she killed their father? Was she planning to kill her too? Did she want to take over Arendelle?

Of course, she knew the best way to answer those questions would be to ask Elsa herself, but… it wouldn't hurt to also ask Percival, right? At least the most pressing ones. The ones about herself.

"Uhm… Percy?" Anna called him, but he didn't turn to look at her. "I can still call you Percy, right?" She asked, trying to be friendly.

"I've told you a million times to just call me Percival." He answered, clearly annoyed by her calling him that. She remembered getting this same reaction before, but back then she didn't care. Seeing him now as a potential threat, she decided it was safer not to piss him off.

"Okay then, Percival. I have a question." When he didn't answer, or acknowledged her in any way, she decided to keep talking. "What do you think my sister will do when she sees me?" At this, he stopped, and Anna almost bumped into him, but caught herself in the last second. Then, he sighed and kept walking.

"I don't know." He admitted with a grimace. "All these past years she's been obsessed with you, but… sometimes she's lamenting that she left you behind, and others she literally creates ice versions of yourself only to blast them away." He shrugs. "So maybe she'll keep you as some kind of pet, or maybe she'll kill you as soon as we arrive. It really depends on her mood."

"I-I see." Anna gulped. That wasn't very comforting.

She contemplated running away, but Percival had a sword, and Elsa could probably sense her exact position now that she was so close. They'd both probably kill her the moment she tried to go back to Arendelle, so she decided the safest option was to reach Elsa's palace and play nice in hopes her sister would spare her life.

* * *

Thankfully, she didn't have to wait too long to see her; the suspense would have killed her otherwise.

As she had imagined, she and Percival arrived to the peak of the North Mountain just as the sun was setting in the horizon, painting the crystal walls of reds and oranges instead of the usual majestic blues that were seen even from Arendelle's castle. She had to admit… the palace was a lot more impressive up close.

She'd always known it was massive, since it was easy to spot it even from great distances, but just _how_ massive was somewhat subjective. Some said it was just as tall as Arendelle's castle, but less wide. Others that even the tallest towers in the world wouldn't even come close to the height of the smallest one of Elsa's castle. The truth was… somewhere in between. Yes, it was taller than Anna's own castle, but definitely not something out of proportion. The main door alone was at least thrice the height of Anna, and it barely came close to being a third of the palace's actual height. Though, she had to admit, most of said height was due to icicle-like towers that she suspected had little to no functionality (except maybe being intimidating) due to how thin they were.

The palace itself was also taller than it was wide, but not by much, which contributed to its intimidating appearance. It was also covered in ice spikes that looked to be perfect to impale people, even though there thankfully weren't any bodies around.

Shockingly enough, despite being more than a little impressive in a scary manner, it was also quite beautiful. Her sister had decorated it with intricate snowflake patterns, and the stairs that led to the main door had elegant railings that would make any king jealous. There was also a balcony above the main door that looked fairly well crafted. All in all, the palace looked like it was built by two different people; one that wanted to make it as beautiful and elegant as possible, and other that just wished to impose fear in the hearts of anyone who saw it. Anna couldn't tell which one had won.

As she ascended the stairs, she marveled when she noticed that, despite being completely made of ice, she couldn't slip on them. She assumed this was part of Elsa's magic. More surprisingly though, was that when the doors opened by themselves and she walked past them, she instantly felt a comforting warmth wash over her body, instantly bringing feeling back to her cold limbs. Again, this despite the fact the entire palace, including the furniture, was made of ice.

Inside, it was the same story than outside; there were beautiful fountains and chandeliers adorning the main hall, alongside deformed sculptures of monsters and menacing icicles. Again, it looked like the work of two different people.

She didn't have much time to contemplate her surroundings though, because as soon as the main doors closed behind her, a familiar voice called her from the staircase at the other end of the room.

"Hello, my little sister."

* * *

 **A/N: Hi, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that, if you did, you leave a review telling me what you think of it. Next chapter we'll see the big reunion between sisters! That'll sure be interesting, right?**

 **Oh and, by the way, from now on and until the end of the story, Anna will be twenty one and Elsa twenty four. So, I won't be putting their ages on top of each chapter anymore, okay? Well, that's all for today. Hope to see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	20. The Ice Queen

**Chapter 20: The Ice Queen.**

"Hello, my dear little sister." Elsa said as she stared down at Anna from the top of the stairs. The redhead noticed that, similarly to Percival, she looked almost exactly the same as when they parted ways; even her spiked and boyish hairstyle was the same. And her rather astounding ice dress now seemed to be slightly more detailed, and with a deeper neckline, but other than that she looked exactly the same.

The most obvious difference though, was that now she was wearing a blue crown, similar to Anna's, that appeared to be made entirely out of ice.

Seeing her like that gave Anna mixed feelings. Mostly because that woman up there, staring arrogantly down at her, but with such love still hiding behind her cold mask, was definitely her sister, and not some evil cold-hearted murderer.

And she would have preferred if she'd instead encountered a monster completely unredeemable and lacking any hints of humanity. That would have given her a clear villain to fight against. But this… just seeing her made her feel like she was going to get sick.

"You know? I remember you being a lot more talkative." Elsa chuckled, still wearing her smug smile as she descended the stairs and stopped several feet away from Anna. "What happened? Did your husband cut out your tongue?" She asked semi-seriously when Anna didn't answer due to the fact she was still trying to figure out if she was going to treat Elsa as her sister or as the evil Ice Queen. At the end, she blurted out the first thing she could come up with.

"I-I don't talk as much anymore. Queens don't do that."

"But you're not the legitimate Queen, are you?" Elsa said, though Anna couldn't tell by her tone of voice if she was being serious or just messing around with her. It didn't help either that she started walking in circles around her as she blatantly eyed her. Like a buyer trying to evaluate if something was worth their money.

"Well, I've got the crown, so…" Anna shrugged, not so convinced about her having such title herself.

Suddenly, Elsa took the crown from her head, contemplated it for a moment and then threw it away. All before Anna could even process what was happening.

"What crown? I don't see a crown on your head." She said with malice. "You are a princess, my little sister. You always were and always will be." She had such an evil glint in her eyes, Anna thought for a moment that she would kill her or something, despite how calm she had been since she arrived. But no. When she spoke again, the evil glint was gone. "Now come on, go to your room and rest from your journey. Percival will show you. See you at dinner." And with that, she disappeared through a door, not even glancing at her again.

* * *

As Elsa had said, Percival escorted her to a room in the upper floor of the castle that had just one big bed made entirely of ice with a mattress made of snow, but which was covered in warm furs. Despite Percival claiming it was hers, it looked to be already inhabited by someone, judging by the many clothes and various items strewn around the floor. When she questioned him about it, he said it was Elsa's room and that she'd be sleeping with her sister.

This seemed more than a bit weird to her, but she decided not to question him, in case Elsa was listening somehow and took offense on her reluctance. Instead, she decided to take a nap. Her legs hurt quite a lot, considering she'd just climbed a mountain, and so she decided to ignore the fact this was Elsa's bed and as a result quickly fell asleep.

It was a dreamless sleep, and the furs provided her enough warmth, to the point it was so comfortable she didn't want to ever get up. And so, it wasn't much of a surprise when Elsa had to wake her up by putting her very cold hand on her back, under her dress. The princess instantly jumped at the contact, completely waking up in a second. First, she looked around searching for an attacker and trying to decipher where she was. Then she saw Elsa and glared at her.

"What the hell, Elsa?!" She yelled angrily. "You could have just shaken me awake, or called my name or something."

"Come on, we both know those tactics don't work when it comes to you, sleepyhead." She replied with a barely contained smile. Anna only pouted at this and mumbled an angry answer.

"What was that? I didn't hear you." Elsa asked, obviously having fun seeing her sister so angry about the way she woke her up. Anna glared at her, holding her gaze for a couple of seconds in which Elsa was sure she would snap at her. But the anger soon was buried under a whole pile of resignation and sadness, as Anna reminded herself that it wasn't wise to fight with the Ice Queen.

"I'm sorry." She said bowing her head. "I shouldn't have yelled at you." She was looking to the ground, so she didn't see when Elsa pursed her lips and frowned at her answer. But she did hear her sigh, and what she said next.

"Come on. Dinner is getting cold." And saying that, she took her hand and led her to a small table for two in the middle of the room that already had two sets of dishes and cutlery also made entirely out of ice. There was also a candle to provide some light, a turkey and a bottle of wine.

One of the chairs was covered with furs, but the other wasn't. It was clear for Anna which one was for her, and yet Elsa sat on it, leaving her to either eat standing or freeze her butt off. At this, Anna remained where she was, wondering if she should tell Elsa that she sat in the wrong chair, but then she reminded herself that this was Elsa's palace, and she could very well sit wherever she wanted, even if cold didn't affect her, but did affect Anna. And so, the redhead sat on the icy chair with little to no protest, only flinching slightly when she felt the cold chair suck in the heat of her body.

Elsa looked surprised by this for a moment, but covered it quickly, instead proceeding to cut a leg from the baked turkey that was on a big plate in the middle of the table. Anna was expecting her to just place the leg to her plate, but to her surprise, she took the rest of the turkey and left the leg, immediately proceeding to eat like a barbarian, failing to use the knife and fork.

Anna was very surprised by this, and briefly wondered if her sister had truly lost every ounce of humanity and had transformed into a savage beast. But then she concluded she was just acting like a misbehaving brat, and shrugged. Who was she to object about the way an evil sorcerer ate? She wasn't that hungry after all. A leg would suffice.

But just when she was about to take said leg, Elsa beat her to it, and quickly proceeded to devour it. Despite having still most of the turkey on her plate. Anna remained still, with her hand extended towards the now empty plate, before retreating it and putting it on her lap. She bit her lip wondering if she should ask Elsa for a small piece of turkey. Maybe she'd even have to beg! But she refused to do that, at least until she was about to starve to death.

Instead, she eyed the bottle of wine and the two glasses that had been set, and decided that, if she couldn't eat anything, she may as well drink something. So, she took the bottle of wine and opened it. She carefully eyed Elsa, but she appeared to be oblivious of her actions, and she decided to pour the liquid into her glass. But… nothing came out of the bottle except a chilly mist. Judging by the layer of frost now covering the bottle, it didn't take Anna long to realize the wine was frozen.

She fought the urge to scream in frustration, and instead just crossed her arms over her chest and leaned on the backrest of the chair, holding back the bitter tears of anger and frustration that burned inside her eyes, making her vision blurry. She would not cry. She was sure that was what Elsa wanted, but she still had some pride left. She was a Queen.

A Queen with no power, no heirs, prisoner of an evil witch, and with no realistic chances of killing her. What kind of Queen was that? She deserved to be treated like crap.

But convincing herself of that was more difficult with the bitter cold burning her back and butt. With her hungry stomach twisting painfully and reminding her she hadn't had any food since morning. And with her sister eating like a beast without a care in the world.

No. She didn't deserve this. She deserved to be treated better by her sister, since she was the one who helped her escape so many years ago. She deserved at lest some food and wine, damn it!

And so, before she could stop herself, she got up, knocking the chair down with a loud crash, and placing her closed fists upon the icy surface of the table.

"Stop!" She yelled at Elsa before she could think better about it. Her sister put down the turkey's leg she had been holding and stared up at her in amusement. This, only enraged Anna more. "I don't know what sick game you're playing, but I don't want to be a part of it! You hear me?! And if you don't wipe that smug smile off your face and give me something to eat and a chair that isn't as cold as your heart, I swear to God I _will_ beat you to death if it's the last thing I do!"

Elsa, however, just kept smiling as she calmly got up from her chair. For a moment there, Anna thought she had crossed a limit and was about to be turned into an ice statue and remain forever as an ornament in her sister's palace, but then the older woman did something unexpected.

She started clapping.

Anna was so surprised by this that for a moment she did nothing. She didn't yell, she didn't hit Elsa, and she didn't laugh either; three things she desperately wanted to do at the same time. She just stared at her sister wondering what was going on until said sister spoke.

"Finally!" She exclaimed with a huge grin. "I was fearing our parents and that pathetic excuse of a man that you call husband had somehow managed to kill your fiery spirit. But thank God there's still some of the real Anna inside that boring shell!"

"Uh… what?" Anna asked, more confused than ever. She had barely changed in the last few years, hadn't she?

"Come on, Anna. You've been acting like a beaten puppy all this time." Elsa answered rolling her eyes.

"I have not!" She protested, blushing hard because deep down she knew it was true.

"Yes, you have." Elsa simply answered. "Even when I took your crown and said you weren't queen, you didn't even utter a word of protest."

"W-well…" Anna started, silently cursing herself for stuttering. "Can you blame me? You're the evil Ice Queen! I'm not going to fight you and end up dead." At her words, Elsa's face reflected something reassembling hurt, but she hid it quickly as she simply shook her head and sighed.

"Yes, I'm the Ice Queen." She accepted. "And _you_ are my sister. Did you really think I'd hurt you?"

"I haven't seen you in years! I didn't know what to expect." Anna protested. "And besides, you've treated me quite poorly since I arrived."

"That was just so I could get the real you out from all those layers of repression." Elsa quickly defended herself. "I knew something was wrong ever since I greeted you and you didn't even answer. I figured all you needed was to let out all the anger you've been building up all these years."

"That still didn't give you the right to… t-to eat my food and freeze my wine." Anna answered, as tears threatened to fall when she unintentionally recalled how frustrated and powerless she had felt in that moment. Elsa quickly seemed to realize that, because she tried to hug her, only for Anna to flinch back before she could lay a hand on her. The older sister pursed her lips at this, but didn't comment on it, and didn't try to hug her again.

"I'm sorry. You're right." She admitted apologetically. "I haven't been around humans very much recently, and I forget they tend to get mad at me when I do things like that." She sighed, obviously hurt by Anna still staying away from her and looking at her like she was a dangerous animal. "Come on, I'm not as evil as they say. I promise."

"You're not?" Anna asked skeptical. "So you haven't killed hundreds of people? You haven't frozen Arendelle? You don't have an army of snow monsters? You didn't kill our father?!" With each question, Anna's tone became more and more accusatory, and her expression angrier and more devastated. When Elsa stayed silent, Anna's anger grew even more. "Answer me!" She yelled, and Elsa even took a little step back at the outburst. However, she composed herself quickly and walked past her and towards a balcony that Anna hadn't seen before because the doors that led to it were closed. There, she opened those doors and stepped into the cold air of the night, looking at the stars with sadness and pain.

"I did." She said after a moment, and honestly, if Anna hadn't gone after her and wasn't standing just two feet away, she wouldn't have heard her. "I am a monster, Anna." She admitted, gripping tightly the railing until its previously smooth surface was covered in frost and spikes. "But I'm not going to apologize." She then continued with an angered voice, as she turned to look at her with a glare that could have turned her into an icy statue. But didn't. "Because I've only hurt those who made me into a monster."

And with that, she pushed past Anna and exited the room, not even saying goodbye.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope you liked this chapter, because I enjoyed very much writing this evil-ish version of Elsa XD. As always, please leave a review and favorite/follow if you haven't. That always help me write more**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	21. Making amends

**Chapter 21: Making amends.**

Anna stirred on her sleep when she felt the first rays of sunlight caressing softly her eyelids. She instinctively pulled the covers (or in this case, furs) over herself in an attempt to gain a few more minutes of sleep. But she soon discovered it was impossible. Her mind was already more in the real world than in the fantasy of her dreams. And that troubled her to no end. If the previous day with her sister had been difficult, she didn't even want to imagine how this one would go.

But, even though she'd like to pin all the blame in Elsa, she had mulled things over as she waited for sleep to take her, and realized that maybe she herself had been rather unfair to her. She'd been assuming the worst of her sister. She saw her as a monster, and treated her with fear and distance, while… yeah, she had done terrible things, but she was still her sister. And she was supposed to try and negotiate with her, so she might as well try and be friendlier with her, right? But only if Elsa also treated her better than the day before, of course.

With that objective in mind, Anna rose from the snow bed with a deep yawn as she stretched her arms and back, feeling a pleasant sensation extend through her whole body. She didn't know if it was because of how tired the trip had made her, or how comfortable the bed was, or because she'd (finally!) slept alone instead of with her husband, but she truly had never felt more well-rested than that morning.

Once she got up from bed, she noticed a rather comfy-looking outfit laying on a chair next to the bed. It looked a bit like those clothes she'd seen the ice-harvesters wearing; gray and made of leather and furs. It wasn't fancy, and she'd normally refuse to wear something like that, but since she was in a palace made entirely of ice on top of Arendelle's tallest mountain, she supposed it was a good idea, and started to undress and slip into her new outfit.

Once she was dressed and had her hair in her traditional twin braids she hadn't wore since she became a Queen (Hans said they were childish), she went out the door and looked around, trying to see if either Elsa or Percival were nearby. But she didn't see anything but an ice wall and the magnificent ice stairs that descended to the many floors the palace had. She hadn't exactly counted the day before, but she remembered her legs hurting quite a lot, so she guessed they were at least five. Why did they bother to have so many floors? She had no idea. Maybe torture chambers, maybe ice rinks. Either way, she decided she'd explore each one of them until she found the dining room; she was starving.

And so, she glided on the stairs' railing until the floor directly under the one where Elsa's room was, and found… a pair of large doors that didn't bulge no matter how many times she tried to open them.

Then, she went down another set of stairs, only to be met with the exact same problem. The next floor was only a bit different because it had small doors on opposite sides, presumably leading to two hallways or rooms. But they we're also frozen shut. That only left the ground floor. Huh. So maybe the palace did indeed have five floors. And she couldn't gain entrance into any of them.

Thankfully though, as soon as she set foot on the main hallway, she smelled something absolutely delicious. It smelled like freshly cooked meat. And also, something else… something both sweet and bitter. Something that made her mouth water instantly as she inevitably closed her eyes and inhaled with pleasure, letting a hum of approval as she realized what she was smelling.

"Chocolate!" She exclaimed happily once she identified the heavenly smell. Hot chocolate had always been her favorite drink after all.

"Elsa said you'd like it." Anna turned around at the sound of a masculine voice and, as expected, found Percival standing just a few feet away. His tone was monotone, almost bored and annoyed. Like he disapproved that Elsa wanted to please Anna.

"Oh." Anna said awkwardly. "Uhm… Where is she?"

"She's in the dining room. Over here." He answered before turning around and leading her across the hall and to a small door. He opened it and they walked in.

The dining room was nothing fancy, really. Just a small table made of transparent ice and three icy chairs, two of them covered by furs. At the other end of the room, there was the kitchen also made entirely out of ice, including a furnace and a stove. Anna briefly wondered how the ice didn't melt with the heat of the fire.

"Anna." Elsa, who was sitting in the icy chair, greeted her as she stood up.

"Uh… hi." Anna answered, not deciding how to act around her, considering last night's events.

"You must be hungry, please sit down." Elsa gestured to the chair in front of her, and Anna obeyed, taken aback by the gentle tone Elsa used. Then, her sister turned to Percival. "I need to speak with my sister alone. Do not disturb us, or I'll turn you into another decoration for my main hall." She threatened, her voice sounding completely different than before, and her gaze turning murderous.

Percival looked like he wanted to protest, but he wisely just frowned and left, leaving them alone.

Anna noticed there was already a plate in front of her, with a sandwich on it. There was also a cup of chocolate, all hot and steamy. With marshmallows. Just how she liked it. Her mouth watered and her stomach twisted in anticipation. She really wanted to just start eating and placate her hunger, but… she noticed her sister didn't have anything to eat, and decided to refrain herself in case this was some kind of trick.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She asked carefully.

"I've already had breakfast with Percival. Unlike you, I am an early riser." Elsa explained, an amused smile plastered on her face. "Honestly, even if I had wanted to sleep in, I wouldn't have been able to with how loud you were snoring."

"S-sorry." Anna blushed and looked down at her plate, ashamed by what Elsa had just said. She'd always snored rather loudly when she slept, and Hans constantly woke her up at night and told her to shut up for that very reason. It was also quite un-queenly.

"Don't be." The older woman replied, as she continued to smile, surprising Anna. "I missed your snores."

"Really?" The redhead raised an eyebrow, not believing her for even a second. Elsa seemed to realize this, because she snorted.

"No." She admitted. "But I did miss you. With or without your loud snores."

"Very funny." Anna deadpanned, but she still smiled fondly at her sister. She couldn't remember the last time she (or anyone, for that matter) had treated her so nicely. And so, she proceeded to eat her delicious breakfast, feeling warm inside.

Once she'd finished, she let out a satisfied sigh and leaned back, looking at Elsa, who was staring directly at her. She hadn't spoken the whole time Anna had been devouring her sandwich, and obviously neither had Anna; she wanted to finish her food as quickly as possible, before it turned into ice. But now, silence was killing her, and as she remembered last night she felt bad. A part of her wanted to just forget the last day had even existed and start anew, but… she also knew it was important to at least address it, or else it might happen again in the future.

"Uh… Elsa?" She called out to her sister despite herself.

"Yes?" Elsa answered, looking at her in a way Anna couldn't quite name. It was cautious, but curious at the same time. Bold, but not indecent. She couldn't decide what to think of it.

"About yesterday…"

"I'm sorry." Her sister interrupted her before she could finish. Anna almost couldn't believe what she'd heard.

"W-what?" She asked with wide eyes.

"I'm not going to repeat it." The Ice Queen rolled her eyes. "But as I said, I probably shouldn't have treated you like that. I suppose so many years of being a slave to your husband can't be undone in just one day."

"I wasn't a…" Anna was about to protest, but realized it was no use. Partially because Elsa surely wouldn't change her views about marriage, but also because deep down she knew she pretty much obeyed everything Hans said. Even if she wouldn't admit it. "Okay, whatever. I'm also sorry. I shouldn't have said such bad things about you to your face."

"I accept your apology, but being sorry won't take us anywhere." Elsa smiled mischievously, and the younger sister instantly knew she was about to suggest they did something childish and/or evil. "And I have planned quite a few things for us to do today, if you're up for it."

"What kind of things?" Anna asked, though she was almost sure she wouldn't like the answer.

Elsa's smile widened even more.

* * *

As soon as she stepped out of the palace, Anna started trembling. She thought it was cold before, but now she realized it was actually quite warm inside, compared to the snowy peak of the mountain. She didn't say anything however, because she was more worried about what her sister had planned.

Elsa said she wanted to show Anna her kingdom, and Anna really hoped she didn't plan to do that on foot, or else she might freeze out there. She feared Elsa had forgotten normal people weren't immune to cold.

Once they had both descended the beautiful stairs that led to the palace, Elsa whistled a loud and clear note, but nothing happened. Anna looked at her questioningly, and only got a self-satisfied smile before, two seconds later, an eagle scream resonated trough the mountain, followed by the distinctive sound of gigantic wings batting.

Anna's eyes widened. The eagle! Of course!

The magnificent beast appeared in her field of vision soon enough, generating a potent breeze as she got closer and landed in front of them, with her fifty-feet wings spread proudly. The snowy animal radiated a cold aura that generated both fear and respect (as if its sheer size wasn't enough to make anyone shit their pants), however, Anna found herself wanting to get closer to the magical animal; to touch it and see if its feathers really were as smooth as they looked.

"Close your mouth, or you might eat a fly by mistake." Elsa teased, but in her eyes Anna could see she was quite proud about the reaction her creation had provoked on her.

"It's amazing." The younger woman replied with a smile that almost went from ear to ear, not being the littlest bit ashamed by just how impressed she was by her sister's pet. Sure, she'd already seen it once, but not so close. And it had been during the night. And she had been crying and worrying her sister would be killed. This time though, she could appreciate the eagle in all its chilly glory.

"Thanks." Elsa smiled, walking towards the animal and extending her hand to give it a pat on the head. "She was my first living creation, which is why she's my favorite."

"She?" Anna asked, and Elsa shrugged.

"I know she technically isn't either male or female, but I like to think of her as a girl. Her name's Jairah."

"Jairah." Anna repeated the strange name, fascinated by how the beast looked at her when she pronounced her name. Her eyes were deep blue, and Anna could see her own reflection in them as if she was staring at a mirror. Those eyes were hypnotizing, and revealed the eagle's savage, but not evil, nature. Anna didn't think she'd ever seen something quite as fantastic or magical.

"You can touch her." Elsa informed her when she saw Anna's fingers twitch as if she desperately wanted to reach out for the beast. "She won't attack you unless I order her to."

Anna swallowed loudly. She really wanted to do just that; it was something out of a dream! The most exciting experience she'd ever had! But… what if it was a trap? What if the eagle killed her? What if…?

Suddenly, before she could decide whether or not she was willing to risk her life by petting a creature that was literally out of this world, the eagle's giant head rushed towards her at great speed. Anna's heart did a little jump and her stomach dropped as she held her breath, thinking she was a dead woman… but then she felt it's peak rubbing against her chest in an almost affectionate manner.

Confused, she turned to look at Elsa, but she just smirked, amused by the sight of the Queen of Arendelle being attacked by an eagle made entirely of snow who only wanted some cuddles.

Soon enough, Anna seemed to understand what was going on, and hesitantly brought her hand to the top of its head, and slowly petted its feathers.

She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding when the eagle closed her eyes and leaned towards her with an almost happy expression. She seemed to like it.

And Anna… well, Anna remembered when one time she had been able to caress a dove. And she was surprised by how similar yet different it was. The eagle's feathers were slightly more rigid and compact, and their shape was sharper, almost as if they were weapons on their own. They were also notoriously colder; Anna could feel it through her gloves. But, despite those differences, they felt very similar to a real bird's feathers. Just larger. They were soft, and fluffy, and when she dug her fingers in them, the eagle would close her eyes in appreciation.

Anna decided that Jairah, for all her long claws and sharp peak, and gigantic stature, was a softie.

"So, are you ready to go?" Elsa asked as she approached to put some kind of modified saddle on the eagle's back and secured the straps around its torso. Anna immediately understood what she was suggesting and her eyes widened in fear, and she took a step back.

"You want me to ride her?!" She exclaimed. The eagle let out a happy scream as an answer, and the redhead gulped. "You can't be serious."

"Why not? She's my main form of transportation, and I assure you its very safe." Elsa explained patiently. When Anna kept looking at her with wide and scared eyes, she changed her tactic. "I didn't think you were a coward." She sighed. "But oh well, I guess you'll have to walk, while I fly high in the sky." That said, the eagle lowered its head and Elsa easily climbed on it, positioning herself on the strange saddle and gripping the reins. The eagle spread its wings as if it was about to take off, and that's when Anna realized what was happening.

"Wait!" She screamed, not wanting to be left behind. Elsa tried to contain a knowing smirk, but failed. However, Anna didn't notice, because she was to busy trying to climb on top of the eagle. That is, until a strong hand grabbed her and pulled her up, and she was able to sit on the saddle, just behind her sister. Instantly, ice ropes appeared around her waist, and tied her to the beast.

"Hold on tightly!" Elsa warned her, and before Anna could process what was going on, she felt her stomach drop as they took off to the sky.

Instinctively, she wrapped her arms around Elsa's waist and clung onto her for dear life, and closed her eyes tightly as if that would stop her from feeling vertigo. She'd always imagined flying was a relaxing and totally pleasant experience, but though certainly this was stimulating, the most dominating emotion was fear. She didn't know why; it was instinctive.

Each time the eagle batted its powerful wings, they ascended even more, and Anna's heart skipped a beat. The air grew colder, the wind blew faster, and Anna clenched her arms tighter around her sister's torso, fearing she would end up falling at any moment.

Just when she thought she might faint for how fast her heart was beating against her ribcage, however, they stopped ascending and suddenly the only sound she could hear was the roaring wind, which was still passing rapidly at their sides, making her cheeks hurt due to how cold it was. But at least it wasn't as violent as before. Anna figured they weren't going so fast anymore.

She took a few deep breaths and tried to calm down her racing heart, but it was difficult when the most extreme thing she's ever experienced before was ride her bike down the castle's stairs. Still, at the end she managed to crack one eye open, and she saw… blue. Everywhere she looked there was a rich blue color. It took her a few seconds to realize she was looking at the clear sky for the first time since six years ago.

She then let go slightly from Elsa, just enough to look at what was under them. As expected, she found herself staring at a vast extension of white and grey clouds that dominated the sky to every direction she looked. From up there they didn't look as harsh and intimidating; they seemed more like large pillows. And she kinda wanted to jump into them, though she knew that was probably not a good idea.

What she didn't understand was how they didn't fall to their deaths if the eagle was no longer moving its wings. But oh well, she supposed it was magic. Though maybe she'd seen a bird or two do just that, and those weren't magical.

 _Weird._ She thought. _It must be a bird thing_.

"No longer scared, little sister?" Elsa asked, clearly amused by how, even though Anna's grip on her had lessened quite a bit, she was still clutching her tightly.

"A little." Anna admitted, as she continued to look around, trying to adapt to the brightness of the sun, which she hadn't seen in such a long time. She had truly missed its light, and how warm it could make her in just a few seconds, and how bright the colors were under its rays. Particularly, she admired how shiny it made Elsa's ice dress look, as well as the eagle's feathers. The light was almost blinding, but she liked it.

"It's normal, I guess." Elsa shrugged. "Not every day you are able to fly on top of a giant snow eagle." She giggled, something Anna hadn't hear her do since they were little kids, which put her somewhat more at ease, and she found herself smiling fondly at the older woman.

"That's true." The redhead answered, also giggling. But suddenly there was a turbulence that made them lose a bit of altitude, which scared her to death, and she ended up clinging to Elsa and shutting her eyes again.

"Relax, it's safe." Elsa assured her, still laughing. "I do this all the time, and I haven't fallen even once."

"I can't help it!" Anna complained, though she did let go slightly of her sister and opened her eyes. "Take it easy, okay? This is all new to me."

"I know, don't worry." She responded, using that gentle tone that seemed so foreign to Anna, knowing the things she had done. Yet it was also somewhat familiar. It was the tone she always used with her when they were younger.

They flied peacefully for a few more minutes. They didn't speak; they only enjoyed the view and felt the wind on their faces. It was a very relaxing experience, just like Anna had dreamt flying felt like. Up there in the sky, her mundane problems seemed to disappear, and her tension evaporated. Her shoulders relaxed as she saw mountains and valleys in the clouds beneath them, and a happy smile appeared on her face.

Even if she wouldn't admit it out loud, part of that happiness she was feeling was due to her sister being there with her. Not the Ice Queen, _Elsa_ ; the girl who was always there for her as they grew up. Who now had taken her into a magical trip she knew they'd both enjoy; who was now sharing with her a small part of her quotidian life. A part that was no doubt special for her.

But she knew nothing lasts forever, and soon she found herself shivering because of the very low temperature there was up there. Not even her heavy clothes and the sun rays could keep her warm when the wind was so cold she was sure her face was covered in frost. And though she said nothing, since she didn't want this to end, Elsa seemed to notice and ordered the eagle to descend.

The descent was tough for Anna, as the dreaded sensation of vertigo once again on threatened to empty her stomach, and she clung to Elsa like her life depended on it. Thankfully, it was over soon enough, and she opened her eyes to see they were now flying under the clouds, and over the kingdom of Arendelle. Her kingdom.

The sight was both beautiful and terrifying. She'd always knew the eternal winter was widely spread throughout the land, and that even the fjord had been frozen. She'd also heard rumors about entire forests being buried under thirty feet of snow, but she never believed them… until that very moment.

All she could see was white, as far as the horizon went. If she didn't knew better, she actually would have believed she was still above the clouds. Except the black stone that made the mountains and constructions was easily distinguishable, even if it was mostly covered by snow. The pine trees also appeared as tall white objects at the base of the mountains, instead of the green color that they used to be.

Here and there, gigantic and apparently random shapes made of ice had formed. But Anna realized they were no random at all; they were blocking the main roads. And next to each one of them, a snow monticule rested. She knew the stories well enough to know those monticules were actually snow monsters made by her sister to either scare people off or kill them. They were the main reason Arendelle couldn't seek help from another kingdom, together with the frozen fjord.

Speaking of the fjord… the ice extended as far as she could see. She always thought the problem was somewhat local, but apparently not. She wondered how many people had actually been affected by Elsa's magic, and how far the unnatural winter had truly reached.

But she also recognized that there was certain beauty in this terrible event. The land seemed calmer and more at peace than ever; there were no people running around, no animals out on the woods, and the water of rivers and waterfalls wasn't moving. Everything was static. Frozen in time.

Still, she felt a chill run down her spine and dread settle on her stomach when the sight reminded her what she had been sent to do.

Suddenly, the dagger hidden on her left sleeve started to weigh a ton. She decided Elsa seemed to be nice and reasonable enough to make an arrangement with her. She'd convince her. She wouldn't kill her. Not now. Not _ever_.

"Uh… Elsa?" Anna called when they started to head back towards the North Mountain. Her sister answered with a little hum of acknowledgement. "I was wondering... why did you freeze the kingdom?" She instantly felt her sister tense, and feared she'd turn her into an ice statue or something, but fortunately she just let out a sigh and answered.

"I wanted revenge." Was her sole response.

"Oh. Uhm. Okay." Anna thought for a moment about what she could say, but unfortunately thinking before opening her mouth wasn't one of her strong points. "Well, you already got it, you know? Many people have died and the others are slowly freezing to death, so… you think maybe you could just thaw it?"

"And why would I do that?"

"Uh…"

 _Quick Anna, think! There must be something she wants more than revenge! I mean, she leaves away from everything and everyone, with a very weird prince as company. Surely she isn't happy! No one wants to be alone._

 _Wait… that's it! No one wants to be alone. And judging by how she's treating me today, I bet she likes my company._

"Because then you could come live with me." Anna answered, happy to have found a solution so fast. "We'd live at the palace, like when we were kids. We'll be together all the time, and we will eat tons of chocolate! It'll be just like before, I promise." She giggled. "Well, as long as you never again use your freaky ice powers, that is."

For a moment Elsa said nothing, which was weird, considering Anna thought she'd made an offer she wouldn't be able to resist. But when her sister spoke again, her voice was full of venom.

"So that's why you're really here." Anna was taken aback by her tone, and unconsciously leaned slightly away from her. "You want me to thaw the kingdom and surrender myself, so I can be put back in a cage or executed."

"What? No, of course not!" Anna exclaimed, horrified Elsa would even suggest she'd do something so evil.

"Even if you don't lock me up or kill me, which I doubt, I would still be a prisoner in the palace; being unable to use my magic, and servant to the 'true Queen'. _Just like before_." Anna noticed the temperature descended quickly, and she suspected it wasn't only because they were arriving to the North Mountain. She knew then she'd screwed up. But she didn't understand why. Hadn't Elsa been happy when they both lived at Arendelle's castle?

"Elsa, look, you're being overly dramatic. And honestly, I only said that you shouldn't use your magic because it's clearly dangerous. I mean, look at what it's done!" She said, pointing to the frozen kingdom. "But you shouldn't be upset. I know we can both work out a solution."

Elsa paused, probably thinking about Anna's words, and the little sister hoped she'd be reasonable enough to consider what she'd just said, but when her shoulders tensed again, she knew that wasn't the case.

"I thought you knew me better than that." She spoke trough greeted teeth. "You should have seen everything I've gone through to get where I am now." Anna fought the urge to scoff at that. What did Elsa knew about sacrifice, after all? She was just a grown up brat that had never truly faced adversity.

"What _you_ 've been through? You should see what _I_ 've been through." She said, picking up a fight with Elsa despite knowing it probably was ill-advised. "I married Hans instead of my true love just because you couldn't control yourself and froze his damn arm off!"

"He deserved it!" Elsa exclaimed but Anna would have nothing of it.

"But _I_ didn't! And yet you only ever think of yourself and never take responsibility of your actions." By this point, Anna's face was hot with accumulated ager towards her sister. "You only know to hide and run away while people suffer for what you've done! I am known as the Useless Queen, you knew that? People hate me because of this eternal winter _you_ caused!"

"You know nothing about me!" Elsa answered, equally angry, as the eagle suddenly landed on the castle's balcony, allowing her to descend. Anna, however, had to fight with the icy ropes that had kept her in place. " _You_ are the selfish brat that always lets me take the blame for your pranks and jokes!"

"Whatever I did when we were little girls surely wasn't as bad as freezing an entire kingdom, or killing our father!" Anna argued, though she honestly didn't remember much of her childhood, as she kept trying to untie herself.

"You know what? I don't want to argue with you anymore. You wouldn't understand anyways." And with those icy words, Elsa turned around and crossed the round room to the entrance, which led to a hallway and didn't have a door.

Still wanting to give her sister a piece of her mind though, Anna practically ripped the ropes off of her and jumped into the floor, only letting out a grunt of pain when she felt her ankle hurt at the impact, before running to catch up with her sister. Just when she was about to cross the empty doorframe and reach her though, a door materialized from thin air and she hit it face-first.

And so, Anna ended up falling on her butt and wondering how a day that started so well could have ended so badly.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for the wait! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please leave a review and fav/follow. It'd really help me to continue writing. As always, thanks for reading and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	22. The deal

**Chapter 22: The deal.**

Anna didn't see her sister again after their little fight. At first she was too mad to care, and took the intensified coldness at the ice palace as a sign that Elsa just trying to further irritate her. That is, until dinner time came and she noticed only Percival was in the dining room.

He looked at her with blind fury, but said nothing when she took some salmon from the stove, sat down in front of him and started eating. But the silence made her uncomfortable and so, despite knowing it probably wasn't a good idea, after a few minutes of trying to ignore Percival's death glare, she looked up and tried to give him an intimidating look as she spoke.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, and to her surprise he just shrugged.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because you made Elsa so angry she's locked herself in the library and has caused a storm to envelop the Northern Mountains." He answered coldly.

"It wasn't my fault!" Anna protested, wanting to convince herself as much as Percival. "She gets angry very easily, you know that!"

"Yes, but never without reason." Percival retorted, narrowing his eyes. "What . Did. You. Do?"

"Nothing!" She protested, and the prince just sighed, obviously not believing her.

"Alright." He decided to drop the subject, knowing he probably wasn't getting anywhere with such a stubborn princess. "But I warn you that if the storm is still there tomorrow, I will personally kill you." He then said with a threatening voice. Looking into his eyes, seeing the hatred and madness behind them, Anna had no problem believing him.

She gulped. Even before Percival told her, she knew she'd screwed up and had to do something fast, but what? She had no idea. She didn't know how to deal with Elsa, more so now that she could probably kill her without hesitation if she overstepped her boundaries, so… was she willing to risk her life to calm her down? But then again, if she didn't, she'd probably end up dead anyways, only at the hands of Percival instead of Elsa. She couldn't decide which one was scarier.

* * *

At the end, she decided to go to sleep and pray Elsa would calm herself down by morning. Unfortunately, when she woke up in the middle of the night shivering because of how cold it was, she knew that was likely not going to happen. Still, she was too tired to care and tried to get some more sleep, but when she just kept shivering in discomfort, she decided it was probably not going to work. And so, she got up, put on her _very_ fluffy boots, and went to the kitchen, wanting to prepare herself some hot chocolate in order to warm up from the inside (and also in case she died tomorrow; she wanted to taste chocolate one last time).

And so, she started descending the stairs, careful not to slip with all the frost that had been formed, or get impaled on the multiple new icicles. She soon noticed that, the more she descended, the colder it got, and the stronger the roaring sound of the storm outside grew. It also didn't take her long to realize that, even in that very moment, new icicles kept protruding from the walls and floor.

More so, her breath soon started forming little clouds of mist in front of her, and frost began accumulating on her skin and clothes, burning her out of sheer cold.

She was considering just going back up, to the relative safety of her room, when she suddenly saw light coming from under a door. Not the yellow light of a fireplace either, but blue, almost spectral light, coming out in erratic waves. She instantly knew what it was, and the knowledge almost made her run away. Magic. _Elsa's_ magic.

No wonder it felt like the storm was literally at the other side of the door; it probably was.

She briefly considered just ignoring it and going back to sleep, but… she felt kinda guilty. Sure, Elsa maybe had no self-control, but if she was angry in the first place, it was at least partially Anna's fault, and she felt a little responsible. Plus, she had no intention of dying at the hands of some crazy prince, so she decided to swallow her fear and knock.

At first, nothing happened. Elsa didn't answer, and Anna wondered if she had even heard her knock, which made her hit the door again, this time harder. Again, her older sister didn't even say a thing.

Oh, well. She had tried, right? It wasn't her fault that her sister was so stubborn. Anna was just turning around to run upstairs as fast as she could, when suddenly the door opened on its own. The princess wasn't sure if it was magic or just the sheer strength of the storm inside that opened it, but she sure as hell felt the change immediately once it wasn't there preventing her from facing the storm directly.

The wind hit her face, making her shut her eyes tightly and try to cover her face with her hands. Tiny snowflakes got stick on her skin, making her body numb with cold, and she started trembling even more. Thankfully, this cold assault didn't last long, and soon the roaring wind calmed down enough to let her open her eyes end see her sister, staring at her from the middle of her own mini snowstorm. Anna was also able to recognize the room she was in; it was the same one Elsa had abandoned her in after their little argument. The great balcony was unmistakable.

"Anna?" Elsa asked, using a tone that made it clear she had been expecting someone else.

"Uh… hi?" She answered awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" Elsa asked in an annoyed tone, though at least the wind stopped roaring, even if snow continued falling.

"Well… I was just going to the kitchen when I saw light coming from under this door. Are you okay?" She asked as she started approaching her sister. Elsa, however, turned around when she saw this and walked towards the balcony. Anna didn't let this bother her.

"I just… I wanted to say I'm sorry. I know what I said earlier bothered you and that wasn't my intention." Anna said, trying to be the mature one in this situation, as she came to stand next to Elsa at the balcony. Here, the cold was a lot stronger, as the storm kept going outside the castle, but she tried not to shiver much. Elsa sighed and gripped the rail, frowning, and Anna feared for a brief second that she was going to snap again. Thankfully, when she spoke, she sounded calmer than she looked, if a bit awkward.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too." She said with a grimace. "I'm not very good at controlling my emotions."

"I've noticed." Anna chuckled, but got quiet quickly, fearing she'd upset her sister once more. After that, they fell silent, just staring at the roaring storm outside. Anna wanted to say more, to amend things with her sister. She knew much of their fighting was because they didn't understand each other, and that to do so, they'd need to talk things out. But with Elsa she was quite literally walking on thin ice, worrying everything would break apart at any second. So instead, she took some time to think about what she'd say.

"Just spill it." Elsa said after a few minutes, probably noticing Anna's struggle. "I promise I won't cause an even bigger storm."

"Uhm, well… I was just wondering, why did you freeze Arendelle?" Anna asked the first thing that came to her mind.

"I already answered that." Elsa said, finally turning to look at her and raising her eyebrow.

"Yes, but _revenge_? Revenge for what? What did those people do to you?" Anna just couldn't understand what her sister had against the whole kingdom. Sure, maybe she was mad with some of the people she met, but _all_ of them? And so mad that she wanted to kill them? No, she wasn't buying it.

"They didn't want me to be their queen." Elsa said, glaring at the distance. "Even when they didn't know anything about me except that I have magic, they still chose to have literally anyone else take the throne." She paused, obviously struggling to reign her anger. "I worked all my life, studying without rest, all in hopes of being a good queen, one that would be remembered forever. And yet, it was all taken away from me because a kingdom filled with fools believed in a dumb prophecy."

"Being queen isn't that great, believe me." Anna said with a bitter laugh. "And besides, the prophecy was true, wasn't it? You're the ruler with a frozen heart that caused an eternal winter."

"I wouldn't have caused this winter if they hadn't taken my crown away from me!" Elsa pretty much screamed, clearly furious. "Being queen was all that I had to look forward as I grew up! Everything I endured was solely because I knew one day I'd have power and be able to make a difference, and now… now it's all gone!"

"Everything you endured?" Anna asked in disbelief. "What? Living in a palace surrounded by servants that fulfill your every wish and more riches you could ever spend wasn't enough for you? You were a princess! You could have had all that, and none of the responsibility that comes with being a ruler. Why did you want more power anyways?"

"Now, here you go again. Assuming that just because your childhood was great, mine was too." Elsa sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Well, then enlighten me. What made your childhood so bad that you're willing to make a whole kingdom pay for it?" She answered, trying to stay calm and keep an open mind, despite everything. Granted, she wasn't doing a very good job at it.

"Don't tell me you don't remember." Elsa said with a grimace.

"Remember what?" Anna answered trough gritted teeth, fighting hard not to get to the logical conclusion Elsa was probably asking her to get to. Her sister chuckled bitterly.

"Deny it all you want, Anna, but I knew you saw my wounds. Not one, not two, but _multiple_ times." When the redheaded princess just turned to look outside with a sour expression, Elsa kept talking. "Yes, maybe the first time you believed it was an accident, but surely after the second time you realized what was really happening." She paused, waiting for her to confirm her words, but the younger sister still refused to meet her eyes or say anything, yet her jaw was tense and her lips formed a thing line. "Anna?" She prompted her.

"Okay, our father hit you, so what?" She finally said, turning to glare at Elsa. "Many parents hit their children when they're being brats."

"And you were never a brat?!" Elsa yelled, mad that her sister wanted to excuse anything the others had done, yet dared to judge her for what _she_ had done. "Heck, half the time it was _you_ who got me in trouble!"

"I wasn't!" Anna answered offended.

"Yes, it was." Elsa rolled her eyes. "All children misbehave sometimes. The difference is that whenever you did something wrong, they'd gently try to correct you, and when _I_ did something wrong I was either hit until my hands bled, or thrown in a dungeon for a week."

"Now you're just exaggerating." Anna sighed, knowing her sister had never been in a dungeon. Truth to be told, she was just trying hard not to feel too guilty about what her sister was telling her. Even though she wasn't sure it was actually true, her heart still hurt a little at her words, more so when she remembered the few times she saw her wounds.

"I'm not." Elsa frowned. "Remember when I froze Hans' arm off? That's when father decided it was okay to lock me in a dirty prison cell. Not only that, but it obviously had been specifically built for me, and had a pair of special shackles able to contain my powers!"

"I-I… I can't believe that! Father wouldn't do something so horrible!" Anna argued, convinced her sister was only telling her such things to make her feel bad for her.

"Father was an asshole, incapable of loving his own daughters." Elsa shot back, practically sneering at her sister.

"Of course he loved me!" The princess said angrily, only to realize what she'd said a moment later and correct herself. "Us. He… loved us." Even to herself that kinda sounded like a lie. Maybe love wouldn't be the best word to describe what her father felt for Elsa.

"Stop pretending, Anna." Elsa rolled her eyes once more. "He didn't love me, and he didn't love you. Sure, maybe he liked you more, but if he had loved you, he wouldn't have sold you off to a jerk of a prince."

"He only did that because he needed to maintain peace with the Southern Iles after you injured Hans." Anna argued, though it had been difficult for her to justify that decision even back then. Much less now after all she'd suffered at the hands of Hans.

"Whatever." Elsa huffed. "You have no idea how much pleasure it gave me when he finally closed his eyes forever."

A chill ran down Anna's spine when she heard those words. Sure, she knew her father had died at the hands of her sister, but a part of her hoped it had been unintentionally, or at least indirectly. Like, that maybe the cold of the mountains had killed him. She liked to imagine that maybe Elsa had felt at least a bit sad about it, not that she'd felt pleasure!

She didn't knew what she wanted to do more; if punch her sister, run away as fast as she possible could from this crazy psychopath, or cry until she had no tears left. At the end, she didn't do anything; she was in shock. Apparently, Elsa took this as an invitation to continue.

"I still remember that day." She said with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I had been sending him letters for months, ever since I discovered you were going to marry that stupid prince. Of course, the only answer I ever got was him sending troops to kill me and, when they all died at the hands of my snow monsters, he finally decided to come himself." She paused. "I never quite understood why, since he was always a coward. Maybe he thought he scared me enough for me not to kill him on sight." She shrugged. "But what's certain is that, the moment he entered my palace, he was unrecognizable. He tried to hug me, he apologized, he said he'd missed be… but I saw through his lies. Still, I decided to play along."

Anna listened intently with morbid curiosity. She always wondered how were her father's last moments, yet listening to Elsa describe them almost felt wrong. Like she was hearing a secret she wasn't supposed to hear. A part of her wanted to believe that her father wasn't lying, that he was being honest when he apologized, and in her sister's tortured gaze, she saw that, at the time, she had wanted to believe that too.

"I invited him to have dinner, and he told me you were happy with Hans, and were marrying him on your own will." Anna's eyes widened at her words. That was a blatant lie! She couldn't count the many times she'd begged her father to find another solution and let her cancel the arrangement. "Of course, I didn't believe him. We ended up arguing, and then I went to sleep, not wanting to deal with him one second longer, yet sparing his life in hopes he'd change his mind about you." Elsa sighed. "I should have killed him then."

"You see, I woke up when I heard swords clashing, and soon found him fighting with Percival in my room. Apparently, he had tried to kill me in my sleep, but Percival had stopped him." She pursed her lips, and the air grew considerably colder. "I sent an icicle through his heart, and that was the end of the story. I showed him _way_ more mercy than he deserved."

"I-I… I can't believe that!" Anna finally said, shaking her head as tears starting falling from her burning eyes. "He… he wouldn't…"

"Oh, but he did." Elsa smirked maliciously. "And it's about time you open your eyes and see him for what he really is."

"I'm sure you will say the same about me after you kill me!" Anna yelled, shaking from her sobs. She wasn't quite sure why she was crying. Perhaps it was the intense fear she felt in her gut, or the pain it gave her to hear her own sister confessing she killed their father, or the thought that most probably she would soon share the same fate. Whatever it was, was making her sob so hard she had to stifle her sobs with her hand, so that Percival wouldn't hear her. She really didn't want to deal with him in that moment.

"Only if you try to kill me in my sleep." Elsa chuckled, but when Anna just glared at her through her teary eyes, she realized she probably shouldn't joke about this, softened her expression and adopted a slightly gentler tone. "Look, if I killed father it was partially because I was trying to help you. I didn't want you to spend the rest of your life with Hans. I want you to be here with me. Forever. There's nothing I've ever wanted more."

Anna looked deep into her sister eyes, trying to catch even the smallest hint of deceitfulness. To see if she was just luring her into a trap, if she truly hated her and wanted to kill her. But she found none of that; in those hard and icy eyes of her sister she only found honestly, and longing. And, as terrifying as the prospect of spending the rest of her life living with a serial killer with incredible powers, she still found herself taking a few moments to calm down before wiping her eyes and asking:

"You want it more than revenge?" Elsa took a few seconds to respond, but at the end answered with conviction.

"Yes."

And so, Anna decided to make a deal. It wasn't one she particularly liked, but she knew she had to make sacrifices for the greater good. And besides, that's what she had been sent to do in the first place; to stop this winter.

"Then you shall have it. I'll stay here with you… as long as you promise to thaw Arendelle."

At this Elsa paused. She was visibly hesitating, trying to decide between her two major desires. Between revenge and love. Before making any promises though, she questioned Anna.

"Do you promise to never leave me again? To give up on your title as Queen of Arendelle and, therefore, your past life? Would you really do that in order to save a bunch of ungrateful assholes?"

"It's the right thing to do." Was Anna's sole answer. Still, Elsa continued with her questions.

"Will you give yourself to me in soul and body? Do you promise to do anything I ask of you?" Anna paused to think about this. She had made such promises once before. To Hans. And she'd hated every second of her life with him, but… she doubted her sister would be worse than him. At least she claimed to love her, right? And she had mostly treated her with respect so far. As long as she didn't make her mad she had nothing to fear. Plus, it's not like she had something to go back to in Arendelle. And she did want to stop the winter. What was her freedom compared to saving thousands of lives?

"I promise." She finally said, and instantly Elsa's gaze softened and turned almost loving. The storm outside stopped, and the temperature rose considerably.

"Then it's decided." Elsa smiled. "Come on, let's go get some sleep. You're freezing here, and you look tired." As she spoke, Elsa offered her hand to Anna, who took it hesitantly. Once they were holding hands, however, Elsa's smile widened even more before she gently started leading her upstairs.

As she walked trough the dark and empty ice palace, which at night seemed to be made of black glass, Anna hoped with all her heart that she had made the right choice by giving herself to the Ice Queen.

* * *

 **A/N: Merry Christmas! I hope you liked this chapter and, if you did, please leave a review? I really like reading them :D. Thanks for reading and see you soon.**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	23. Anna's new life

**Chapter 23: Anna's new life.**

Anna stirred in her sleep when sunlight pierced her eyelids. She didn't want to wake up yet; she was so comfy and warm under the covers! Of course, she knew she'd eventually have to get up and go have breakfast, but for now, she decided she wanted to spend a few more minutes in bed.

"I know you're already awake, Anna." Anna heard Elsa's voice saying, and felt a finger playfully poking her nose. She frowned and turned around, not wanting to get out of bed yet.

"Come on, don't pretend you're still asleep or I'll pour some snow under your shirt." She laughed with malice and, at the threat, Anna instantly turned around again and opened her eyes, not wanting to be the victim of her sister's powers. "Good." She smiled, and Anna noticed she was lying on bed with her, and remembered they'd slept together last night after their little chat. Before she could process anything else though, she felt a pair of lips on her own. It was an innocent kiss, much like those they shared when they were children, but it still surprised her and scared her. She thought for a moment that Elsa may want something more intimate, but as soon as it started, the kiss ended.

"Good morning, sis." Elsa said as she caressed Anna's cheek. Her hand was cold, but not unpleasantly so, so she didn't protest.

"Morning." She mumbled, still in the process of fully waking up.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah… and you?" She added the question as an afterthought, trying to be polite.

" _Very_." She answered with a tone of voice Anna couldn't quite identify (suggestive, maybe?) and a predatory look in her eyes.

"Oh. Great." She said awkwardly. She knew about her sister's feelings for her, of course. She'd tried to deny it multiple times, but they were quite obvious, and Elsa didn't have a problem expressing them freely. Still, they made her uncomfortable, more so because she saw Elsa purely as her sister, but now she had to comply with whatever she wanted. And… well, kissing was fine; weird, maybe, but she didn't have a problem with it. She was worried Elsa would ask more of her though.

"Come on, get up and dress yourself. I have plans for today." Elsa said before kissing her again, in the same manner as before, and getting out of bed herself. Then, she waved her hand and the nightgown she had been sleeping in turned into her usual ice dress. With that, she walked out of the room, leaving Anna alone.

The princess sighed in relief. For a moment she thought Elsa would stay and watch her undress. Maybe her sister still respected her, after all.

* * *

"So… what exactly have you got planned for today?" Anna asked once they had finished breakfast.

"Well, I was thinking about showing you the whole palace, if you're interested. We could also go for a walk around the mountains, but you probably wouldn't be able to withstand the cold for too long… so maybe we should stay inside." Elsa answered.

"Cold? I thought you had thawed Arendelle?" Anna said, disconcerted and worried Elsa wasn't going to keep her word.

"That's not how this works." Her sister sighed. "Yes, I'm thawing Arendelle, but it takes time. Besides, we're in the North Mountain! It's always snowing here, even without my help. Plus, if I were to dissipate the storm that surrounds my palace, Arendelle's army would be here in a matter of hours."

"Oh." Anna blinked. "Yeah, that makes sense." She couldn't believe she hadn't thought about it. "But… I would like to see Arendelle in summer again. Maybe we could use Jairah to watch it from above once it's completely thawed?"

"You don't think I'll keep my word?" Elsa narrowed her eyes, obviously upset, and the princess rushed to reassure her before she caused a storm in there.

"No, no, no! That's not it! I just…" She bit her lip, not wanting to make her mad, but also wishing she agreed to her request. At the end, she decided to take her chances. "I miss the sun, and the flowers, and the sight of the clear waters of the fjord." She shook her head and smiled with nostalgia. "I want to see them, at least once more."

At this, Elsa frowned and looked down, apparently deep in thought. Anna couldn't quite decipher her expression, but she guessed her sister was probably scared she'd want to leave once she saw Arendelle in full form, and… yeah, that was a possibility. Her previous life wouldn't sound so bad if she could at least enjoy summer and all that came with it. But she'd never just break her word! She was a Queen, and as such, she had honor. Plus, if she escaped, her sister would hunt her down anyways, so…

But before she could reassure Elsa, she spoke.

"Alright." Elsa sighed. "As soon as everything is thawed, I'll take you on a trip to Arendelle."

"Yay!" Anna exclaimed exited, jumped up and began her happy dance… until she realized her sister was staring at her like she was crazy, and she stopped and sat down again, smiling sheepishly. Elsa just shook her head and chuckled, probably not minding how childish her sister could still be sometimes.

"So, now that we've clarified that… are you ready to explore my palace?" Elsa asked, unable to hide the proud smirk that suddenly appeared on her face.

"You mean the impenetrable fortress no one but you and Percival have ever seen? You bet!"

* * *

"As you probably know already, this is the main hall." Elsa explained as they entered. They'd already explored the gardens (if you can call a very impressive collection of icicles that), the stable (which contained only Jairah and a snow horse), the armory and the library, but still weren't even close to having seen all of the palace. "The majority of the statues you see are made purely out of ice, but with others I used plants or parts of animals to decorate them." She stopped next to a statue representing a reindeer. "As you can see, the antlers are natural."

"So this is what the Ice Queen does with her free time: decorating." Anna chuckled. "Arendelle's councilmen wouldn't be so worried about you if they knew."

"Maybe… but what if I told you some of these statues contain human parts?" Elsa said with a sinister smile. Anna turned to look at the statues, and gulped when she noticed some of them (especially those resembling humans) had real hair or even eyes, and wondered if those were from real people... that is, until Elsa started laughing.

"You should have seen your face!" She mocked her. "Rest assured, I'm not a barbarian. I'd never do something so macabre."

"Oh. Good." Anna smiled awkwardly. Truth to be told, it wouldn't have surprised her so much.

"Come on, let's keep going." Elsa signaled her to follow her and led her upstairs. There, she showed her Percival's room and some kind of vault where they kept food, money, jewels and just about anything they either found on the mountains or stole from people. Then, they went up another set of stairs, where they entered through a pair of large doors and saw… a big, empty room.

Well, it wasn't exactly _empty_. It had some columns around its perimeter, kind of resembling those in Arendelle's palace's ballroom, and a massive chandelier on the roof, whose form reminded Anna of a snowflake, if a little distorted to look intimidating. At the floor, there were icicles and frost covering what was probably once a smooth icy surface, but had decayed with disuse. She wondered what the hell was this place.

"This is the… uh… ice rink? Ballroom? I wasn't so sure when I built it, to be honest." Elsa explained. "I never even used it anyways, so if you want, this can become your personal study, or chocolate storage, or whatever."

"Uhm… can you turn it into an ice rink again?" Anna asked excitedly. "It's been _ages_ since I last skated."

"I don't know. Let me try." Her sister answered, something Anna found very odd. After all, how difficult could it really be to turn the floor smooth again? Specially for someone who had made the entire palace in less than a day!

Well, apparently it was harder than Anna imagined, because Elsa closed her eyes and tried to concentrate, yet all she managed to do was make some of the icicles crumble into snow. This surprised Anna quite a bit; she remembered her sister having way better control of her powers when they were kids.

"Elsa? Are you okay?" Anna asked, placing her hand over Elsa's shoulder. Instantly, all the frost and icicles disappeared and the ice became smoother than that of any frozen lake Anna had ever seen. Her sister opened her eyes and stumbled backwards a bit, looking very confused when she noticed what she had just done. This confusion only lasted for a second though, and then she turned to Anna wearing an arrogant expression.

"Of course I'm fine! I was just having a hard time concentrating, that's all." Anna looked at her with a doubtful expression, wondering what the hell was going on with her magic, but she had no time to question it because suddenly, a pair of skates made of ice appeared on her feet. "Well, didn't you say you wanted to skate?"

"Of course!" She answered immediately, sounding as excited as ever… and then paused, realizing there was something that would make her even happier than simply skating. "But… only of you skate with me."

"No, thank you." Elsa answered, crossing her arms and going to recline on one column. "I don't do that sort of thing anymore. You go have fun."

"But Elsa…"

"Really Anna, I'm the Ice Queen. I have a reputation to maintain." She stayed firm, even though Anna was almost sure she would agree eventually. After all, her sister always loved playing with ice.

"There's no one here! Only me, and I saw you pee your bed multiple times when we were kids. Your reputation is pretty much ruined already." Anna answered, deciding to tease her a bit, as she started skating around.

"I-I was like… f-four!" Elsa said, blushing furiously and deviating her gaze. "And I only did that when there was a storm outside."

"Oh, so the _Ice Queen_ is scared of storms?" Anna smirked, enjoying the teasing a little too much.

"I'm not!" Her sister pouted, obviously starting to get a little angry.

"I think you are." She chuckled. "And besides, the last time you peed your bed, you weren't four, but like… ten? Or twelve? I don't quite remember."

"Y-you're lying!" Elsa blushed even more.

"Really? Then why was there a puddle on your bed?" She said, stopping in front of her sister and poking her ribs before skating away.

"I froze it on accident! The ice melted!" She tried to defend herself, but there was no use; her little sister was laughing like crazy. "Stop laughing! I-I'm gonna…"

"What are you going to do, oh mighty Ice-Queen-who-is-afraid-of-storms?" She continued her unrelenting teasing.

"You'll see!" Elsa smirked sinisterly before making skates appear under her feet and starting to chase Anna, who let out a tiny shriek when she saw this before trying to go faster.

Of course, you can't just run away from the Ice Queen while skating on _ice_ and expect to outrun her. Sure, at first she managed to avoid being captured by her sister, but after she made some sharp turns and managed to evade her in the last second, Elsa started making obstacles appear in front of her, making her almost collide with a solid block of ice more than a couple of times. Then, when it was apparent this wouldn't make Anna slow down, Elsa decided to propel herself using her powers and capture her this way.

Seeing her sister pretty much jump over her, Anna squealed and was barely able to brace herself for the impact she'd feel once she made contact with the hard icy floor… except she didn't. Instead, she landed on a soft pillow of freshly made snow. She had little time to breathe, however, because immediately after, she was assaulted by a merciless attack of tickles on her stomach.

She laughed and trashed around, trying to throw her sister off her, but Elsa was strong and relentless. And, more importantly, she was up for revenge. After a little while, Anna was getting out of breath, and her ribs hurt quite a bit. She didn't want to keep laughing, and she wanted to end the tickling torture, but she couldn't just fight Elsa, so she decided to beg.

"Elsa!" She said between laughs. "P-please, stop!"

"Not until you admit you were lying about me peeing on my bed!" She answered, obviously enjoying tickling her sister.

"I was lying! You win!" She said, trying to hold back the tears that appeared on her eyes from laughing so much.

"And you have to promise not to tell anyone such things." She added, profiting on the fact she had her sister at her mercy.

"I promise! Just, please…" As soon as those words left her mouth, the unrelenting torture stopped, and she was able to breathe, slowly regaining composure, her heartrate slowing down.

Once she had finally calmed down, she smiled and looked up at her sister, realizing she was still straddling her. She chuckled. She hadn't felt so happy in a long time! Ever since Elsa left her childhood behind and stopped playing with her. She had missed her sister so much! And now she had her back. Sure, maybe she was her prisoner-slave, but it really didn't feel like she was captive. More like she was spending some quality time with the only family she had left.

"Do you mind?" Anna said on a playful tone. "I'd like to get up before I get frostbite from lying on the snow."

"Did you learn your lesson? It's never a good idea to tease the Ice Queen." Elsa answered arrogantly.

"Oh, but it was." Anna answered with a gleeful tone, looking at her sister with a gentle gaze. When Elsa tilted her head and raised an eyebrow, confused, she explained herself. "It got you to skate with me." Anna raised her hand and brushed Elsa's bangs off her face, in order to see better her beautiful sky-blue eyes, so similar to their mother's. And she saw love in them; deep affection that could not possibly be faked or corrupted by hatred or anger. And she felt hope. Hope that maybe, one day, her sister would turn good again, and they would be happy together.

That is, until she felt a pair on lips on her own. It was very different from their kisses as children, or even those they'd shared that very morning. It wasn't tender, brief and innocent; it was passionate, strong and persistent. Elsa's lips moved against her own with certain ferocity that made her feel uncomfortable. More so, after a while she tried to pry her lips open using her tongue, and though she tried to resist, Elsa's tenacity made her open up against her will.

She didn't like it one bit. The way her sister's saliva mixed with her own grossed her out. How she pressed their bodies together in a pretty suggestive way made her want to push her away. And her moans and happy expression while doing all of this only made everything worse.

But worst of all was, if she closed her eyes, she could easily compare this to all the times she'd laid with Hans. The first time she had been anxious and unexperienced, but then she was afraid, and dreaded the night. He never hurt her, not really, but she didn't want to be with him… and yet knew it was her duty, and it was futile to resist, and she didn't want him to get mad at her.

In that moment, she felt the exact same thing. Disgust, impotence, fear and, deep down, a spark of anger. She wanted to cry, but didn't. She wanted to cry because, though at first she'd thought she'd finally escaped her former life and had found a better one here with her sister, now she realized some things never change.

* * *

 **A/N: I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I was busy with the Elsanna week, and I got sick this month. Twice. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, please review or favorite/follow if you haven't. Well, that's all for today, thanks for reading :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	24. The frozen fjord

**Chapter 24: The frozen fjord.**

"You know you will have to tell her sooner or later, right?" Percival voice sounded from behind her, making Elsa turn from her previous spot staring at the sky from her balcony, and glare at him. She had just woken up like fifteen minutes ago, and went there to wait until her sister woke up, but apparently she couldn't have a minute of peace and silence.

"Tell her what?" She asked defensively.

"That you're not going to thaw Arendelle." He shrugged, approaching her and stopping at her side. "It's already been a week, and you haven't taken her to see it. She'll start asking questions."

"It doesn't matter. I am going to thaw Arendelle; it's just taking me a little more time than anticipated." She answered, obviously trying to appear calm and in control.

"Really? Because I didn't think you'd really choose to have a foolish girl as pet, instead of being feared and reverenced throughout the land." He'd been upset ever since Anna came to the palace, arguing it was making Elsa's softer, but she was having none of it.

"I don't care about what anyone thinks of me." She snarled. "Except Anna. She's all that matters."

"And yet you keep raping her."

"I have not done such thing!" Elsa yelled, magic at her fingertips, utterly outraged by the accusation.

"You will, if you haven't yet." Percival answered, showing more arrogance and defiance than he'd ever done. "You know she doesn't love you back, and that all she wants is to run back to the arms of that Prince Hans of hers. She'd kill you if she had the chance."

"She wouldn't…" Elsa started, but was promptly interrupted.

"Maybe yes, maybe not, but what is true is that she doesn't love you. Not the way you love her, at least, and if you're ever going to be truly happy, and claim what you think is yours, you'd be raping her. She'd hate you more, and probably run away." He paused, smirking sinisterly. "And what would you have then? A thawed kingdom that wants you dead, a sister that hates you, and a broken heart."

"That's enough, Percival!" Elsa yelled, beyond angry at her servant, and shaken by his words, more so considering they weren't blatant lies. All he had said could potentially happen. "You will never speak of this again, or I swear I'll freeze you limb by limb, until you beg for the sweet release of death."

"Sure, Elsa, whatever you say." He shrugged, not at all frightened by her threat. "Why should I fear a Queen that doesn't keep her word?" And with that, he left.

* * *

"Percival, have you seen Elsa?" Anna asked as she ran into said man at the main hall. She'd been looking for Elsa everywhere after having breakfast, but her sister seemed to have vanished. Come to think of it, she had been avoiding her the last couple of days, making the princess worry she had done something to offend her.

"Not since this very morning." He answered, apparently trying to be friendly, but the way he looked down upon Anna revealed his true opinion about the girl. "What do you need her for?"

"Well… nothing in particular." She admitted sheepishly, wondering why she even wanted to see her sister anyways, since all she seemed to be interested in lately was shoving he tongue down Anna's throat. She was getting used to it, but she still couldn't say that she liked it. "I'm just bored, and I wanted to ask if maybe we could go out for a little while." She said at the end, deciding that was the most likely reason for her to be searching for her sister. It's not like she had anything else to do anyways. Or anyone to talk to, for that matter.

"You want to see Arendelle." He rolled his eyes. It wasn't a question.

"Well…" Anna blushed, unwilling to admit he'd read her so easily.

"It's okay. I guess it's understandable considering you basically accepted to become Elsa's pet in exchange of her thawing the kingdom." He reassured her.

"Y-yeah, but… I mean, do you think it's thawed already? She _did_ say it could take a while."

"Honestly, I don't know." He lied. "But I'm gonna get some supplies today. Why don't you come with me and see it for yourself?"

It was a tempting offer. After all, she was concerned that maybe the reason Elsa hadn't taken her to Arendelle was because she just wouldn't keep her promise about thawing it. On the other hand, seeing her kingdom again was something she would have preferred to do with her sister; maybe even have a little picnic on the forest and make flower crowns for her. And besides… if Elsa found out she went out of the palace without her permission, she'd probably get really mad at her and do something rash.

So, no. She preferred not to become an ice statue.

"Uh… thank you for the offer, but I'd rather go with my sister." She excused herself, ready to turn around and keep looking, until Percival's voice stopped her.

"Are you sure? She did say you could come with me to buy supplies if you wanted to. She said you've never liked staying in just one place."

"S-she said that?" Anna asked, surprised her sister still remembered her hyperactive nature and had told Percival about it, but still not very convinced about all of this.

"Yes. I mean, the path I normally follow doesn't come close to Arendelle, but there's a cliff nearby from where we could see it." He gave her a small smile. "It would be a five-minute detour, at most. I don't think she'll mind. Or even notice."

"B-but…" Anna started, then bit her lip. After all, it wasn't her damn fault her sister had been too busy to spend even one minute by her side the last few days, and she was really starting to feel trapped inside the palace, and figured a bit of fresh air would do her some good. Still, she wanted to avoid, at any cost, making her sister mad. "Okay. I agree to go with you. But I don't want to see Arendelle; I trust Elsa to show me when she's ready." She finally responded, coming to a compromise with herself.

"Alright." Percival shrugged. "Less work for me."

And with that, he went to the stables, with Anna following him close behind.

* * *

As Percival had said, it didn't take too long. Basically they just went to Oaken's, where he bought some food and clothes, both for him and for Anna. And he acted annoyed all the time the princess tried on yet another dress, before finally deciding for the first one she'd seen (a simple and warm one, with a blue skirt and a black bodice, coupled with a pink cape). And he also refused to buy her chocolates until she threatened to tell Elsa about it, and he relented.

All in all, it was quite fun, and Anna did enjoy very much talking to another human being for a change (Oaken). Besides, she got herself a new dress to surprise Elsa with the next day, so that was a plus. That is, unless her sister wanted to take it off her the moment she saw her… but no. That wouldn't happen. She hoped.

Still, she couldn't wait to get back to the palace. Traveling by snow horse wasn't quite as fancy or satisfying as flying on an ice eagle, and the sun was starting to set. And the idea of being alone at night, in the middle of the forest, with a man that looked like a sleep-deprived psychopath didn't sound all that pleasant.

However, when they were nearing the path to Elsa's palace, Percival tugged the reigns slightly and made the horse deviate into the line of threes. Anna briefly considered not saying anything, in case he got mad at her for asking questions, but then decided that, if he was deviating from the main road, it was probably not for something good, so she may as well ask and plan an escape if necessary.

"Uhm… Percival?" She called him, her voice shaking a little from nervousness. "Why are we going off the road?"

"I just need to pick up something. Don't worry; it shouldn't take that long." He assured her, not even turning to look at her when he said it. But he was curt and cold, and Anna couldn't help feeling like he's lying, which incremented her fear tenfold.

"Oh. Okay." She answered, trying not to reveal just how afraid she truly was… and failing. She needed a plan! Quick! But her dagger wouldn't be of use at all, considering Percival had a sword _and_ most likely knew how to use it. Her best option would have been to alert Elsa of what was happening, but she was all the way back at the palace! Even if she somehow managed to send her a smoke signal or something without Percival noticing, she probably would take too long to arrive.

So what could she do? Just resign to her imminent death? Or was she simply being paranoid?

Suddenly, Percival stopped the horse and got down, then offering his hand for Anna to take and get off their steed as well.

"Come with me, princess. It's dangerous for you to be in the forest alone." He said, but as soon as she caught a malicious glint in his eyes, all she wanted to do was punch him and run away. But she decided it was better to avoid direct confrontation until it was absolutely necessary, so she steeled her nerves, and descended from the horse.

Once she was on the ground, they started walking through the forest (Anna tried to memorize the route they followed, so she could get back later), but it wasn't long until they came to a stop, Anna behind Percival.

"Well, Anna, it seems we've come to our destination." He said, turning around and smirking maliciously.

"And where's that, exactly?" Anna asked.

"Why don't you see for yourself?" He answered, and stepped aside to reveal a snowy cliff.

The first thought that entered Anna's mind was that he literally was going to push her off a cliff and to her death, but she wasn't close enough for that. However, she stepped closer on her own accord once she realized what he'd taken her to see. It was Arendelle. Far there in the distance, the capital of the kingdom could be seen surrounded by tall mountains and a frozen fjord.

A _frozen_ fjord. Everything, as far as the eye could see, was frozen. Covered in ice and snow. Despite Elsa telling her she had already thawed part of it.

But the storm hadn't receded; it had actually picked up a little. The town looked like it wouldn't keep standing for long, unless someone stopped the eternal winter. And apparently, that someone wasn't going to be Elsa.

Anna felt betrayed, and outraged. How dared she lie to her?! How dared she kiss her, touch her, and keep her locked in an ice palace, if she wasn't planning on fulfilling her end of the deal? Why make a deal in the first place? To give Anna a spark of hope only to then take it away?

Oh, she wasn't going to get away with this! Anna would bring back summer, even it costed her own life!

Or her sister's.

* * *

 **A/N: Cliffhanger! Muahahahaha, better get used to those, because you will be seeing them quite often from now on XD**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading. If you liked this chapter, please review, tell me your thoughts or whatever. Reviews really motivate me to continue writing :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	25. When everything falls apart

**WARNING: Blood, violence and rape.**

* * *

 **Chapter 25: When everything falls apart.**

"Elsaaaaa!" Anna's voice resonated throughout the main hall of the palace. She was beyond angry at her sister; she felt used and betrayed. And it hurt a lot because, while she was used to having others treat her like garbage, she had hoped Elsa still cared about her. But she was wrong, and that truth was slowly tearing her heart apart, fueled by years and years of contained anger and frustration.

"Anna? Where have you been?!" Elsa's voice sounded from upstairs right before she crossed the door. She sounded concerned, more than anything, and also a little mad, though she remained calmed for the moment. "I thought you'd…"

"Why the hell haven't you thawed Arendelle?!" Anna rushed to yell at her, running towards her and poking her chest with an accusatory finger, surprising the older sister. Still, she tried to put on a façade and laughed.

"What are you even talking about? Arendelle is almost thawed." She chuckled, though her smile seemed more than a little forced. Her laughter died soon though, when she felt a hard slap on her cheek. Her skin pulsated painfully, so she tried to alleviate the pain by pressing her cold hand against the sore spot, however she was too stunned to do anything else about it.

"You think I'm stupid?! I saw it with my own eyes!" Anna yelled yet again, unable to contain her rage.

"How did you even…?" Before she could finish her question, Elsa's eyes landed of Percival, nonchalantly passing through the doors and into the palace, wearing a self-sufficient and malicious smile on his face. In that moment, the Ice Queen knew who was responsible for her little sister's anger; who she had to blame for this unfortunate turn of events.

"You!" She screamed, pushing Anna aside as she strolled towards her servant, her eyes murderous and magic at the tip of her fingers, almost too chaotic to be contained. "You betrayed _me_! Your goddess!"

"No. You betrayed yourself. When you decided to undo everything you've accomplished just because your little sister said so." He spat, looking at Anna with contempt. "Whatever she can give you, it's nothing compared to the satisfaction of punishing those who wronged you, but you are too blinded by lust to see it. I'm just saving you from the disappointment you'll feel once your precious Anna isn't so precious anymore."

"Percival, shut up!" Anna interfered before he could keep arguing with Elsa. "No one cares about a word that you're saying, and I _need_ answers!" She then turned to her sister. "Why did you lie to me? Why did you used me like a toy and then fail to fulfill your promise? Do I mean so little to you?" Tears were threatening to fall from her eyes at every accusation, however, even _she_ didn't know if they were from anger or just plain sadness.

"Anna… stay away from this." Elsa said, clenching her teeth. "This is between Percival and I. I'll explain everything later, I promise."

"You promise? Ha! Do you think I'm so stupid as to believe you now?" She remarked, struggling when her sister tried to push her away.

"See, Elsa?" Percival said with a mocking tone. "She doesn't even trust you anymore. She probably won't even let you _touch_ her ever again. Why keep her around when she can't give you what you desire? Why pretend there's still love inside you when we both know your heart is frozen?"

"Enough!" Elsa shouted as she finally pushed her sister away with a hard shove before facing Percival as a blizzard started swirling around her. "I know you think I'm a goddess reincarnated, and that I was born to avenge your magical ancestors, but I'm none of that! And all I ever wanted was Anna! And you ruined it!"

And with those words, she attacked.

A wave of magical power redirected itself towards Percival at maximum speed, transforming into sharp icicles at the last second, making it obvious Elsa wasn't going to spare his life. He, however, calmly waved his hand, forming an invisible shield that disintegrated the icicles and turned them into harmless snow.

"I thought I had taught you not to make obvious attacks." He said, smirking. Elsa took a moment to process his words and read his mocking expression and then stepped aside, just in time to avoid being crushed by one of her own ice-statues that he had levitated towards her.

"I'm more subtle than you think." She snarled, pointing her hand towards him and releasing a burst of magic that he easily avoided. However, when it collided with the ground, it exploded into thousands of tiny needles flying outward in all directions. Dozens of then collided with Percival's back and side, and Elsa smirked when she saw him wince and force out the needles with a burst of magic.

"And you still keep rejoicing at the littlest of victories." He sighed. "Pathetic."

In that moment he flew towards Elsa with a burst of speed, unsheathing his sword and trying to cut her in half, but she managed to block the blow by materializing a solid block of ice between them. Only barley though. But she didn't allow herself to feel scared or even upset (anymore), and she concentrated solely on the euphoria fighting gave her, and on how good it would feel when she'd finally kill her adversary. This made controlling her magic easier.

"A stupid sword can't harm me." She laughed, taking his weapon, still encased in the ice and freezing it over to the point the metal should be braking… except it didn't.

"No, a normal sword can't. But an enchanted one will!" He remarked, finally pulling the blade out of its icy confinement and thrusting a blow at Elsa, who barely managed to avoid it. However, it still made a cut on her arm, which provoked her to hiss and clutch it in agony.

It's not like she wasn't used to pain. The fools who came to her palace were usually heavily armed, and sometimes they managed to injure her. Even before, her father hitting her had given Elsa a higher than usual tolerance to pain, but _this_ was in an entirely different dimension. It felt like it was burning her flesh from the inside, melting away her skin, muscles and even bones. When she stopped to look at her wound, she realized it was actually _smoking_.

"Oh, didn't I tell you? I've been experimenting with a few venoms." He chuckled. "This one will not kill you, but you won't be able to use that arm for a while, and you might start feeling weak."

"Traitor!" She yelled, now letting anger take control over her, despite knowing it might not be the best idea if she wanted to remain focused. As a result, it started snowing, and icicles randomly sprouted around her. "Are you trying to kill your Queen?"

"You're too weak and pathetic to be my Queen." He answered, looking briefly at Anna (who was trying to hide behind a statue in order to escape the rage of the two mages), fully implying it was all the princess's fault. "Maybe you're not the Goddess of The Prophecy after all."

If there was one thing that angered Elsa beyond anything else was being called weak. She wasn't weak! She was powerful! Her magic was beyond imagination, and she was the legitimate Queen of Arendelle! She wasn't a pathetic little kid anymore.

And so, Elsa started attacking without mercy, throwing blast after blast of magic with little to no purpose or planning, relying solely on force to get the upper hand against her opponent… but it was difficult nonetheless. She only had one hand to both attack and defend herself, and as a result, she got repeatedly injured in the process. Not to mention, thanks to the venom her eyelids were getting heavy, and the temperature of her body was rising quickly. The fever was fogging her brain and limiting the amount of power she could use.

"Tired already?" Percival mocked her as he used his magic to redirect one of the Queen's icy projectiles towards her, managing to injure her right leg. She clenched her teeth, but said nothing, and kept attacking with all her strength.

"Emotion has always been your greater weakness." He panted as he barely avoided her next set of attacks. "Weather it was the lust for your sister or the resentment towards your father." He smirked, even as Elsa managed to pierce his right arm with a large icicle, making him drop his sword and stumble as he tried to ignore the pain.

"Do you remember?" He winced, ripping the icicle out of his body and throwing it away. "When he came and you tried to act all civilized, talking with him at the table? You held on for long enough, yet as soon as he fell asleep, you trapped him in ice and proceeded to torture him to death. Even _I_ was horrified by his screams."

"I. Said. Enough!" Elsa yelled, opting to encase her hands in ice and throwing punches at Percival in a savage way. She didn't even pretend to be fighting properly anymore. She didn't even feel her wounds or tiredness. She was nothing but a beast, a monster hungry for blood. And blood did she have; she beat Percival until he was but a bleeding mess on the ground, not even able to defend himself anymore. Even then, she didn't stop; the memory of what she'd done to her father was making her fury and thirst for blood stronger.

She started throwing Percival around, using bursts of cold wind and hitting him with blocks of ice, making explosive waves of power run through the whole palace. He was like a ragdoll at this point, and didn't even try to defend himself, but Elsa still didn't stop; she was enjoying this too much.

That is, until she heard her sister yell at her.

"Elsa! Stop!" Anna said as she clutched her chest tightly, her heart consumed with agony. Heartbreak had become more real and tangible than ever when a gust of cold magic hit her chest, leaving her gasping for air as she felt the icy magic permeating her body, burning her heart with cold. That, coupled with hearing the truth about her father's death and seeing her sister turn into a monster, made her vision blurry with tears.

Thankfully, Anna's scream had been able to momentarily snap Elsa out of her rage, and prompted her to search for her sister. Anna took advantage of this and slowly walked towards her, still clutching her chest in a vain attempt to make the pain recede.

"Stop." She said weakly, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Anna! Are you okay?" Elsa asked, finally forgetting about Percival and running to her sister. She wanted to hug her, tell her everything would be okay, but her magic was still unstable, and she feared she'd hurt her, so she stayed a few steps away with her hands partially reaching towards Anna.

"O-okay?" Anna chuckled bitterly. "How could I be okay?! You froze my kingdom, used me, betrayed me, tortured our father to death, mercilessly killed your only friend and…" She let out a little pained whimper as she fell to the ground, feeling the pain intensifying momentarily. In that moment, a strand of her fiery hair turned white. "Y-you froze my heart!" She sobbed.

"W-what?" Elsa said, concerned and confused. In that moment though, she heard Percival's weak laugh and turned to him. "Do you think that's funny?" She yelled, ready to use her magic to shut him up.

"It is." He said, chuckling still, even if he was almost drowning in his own blood. "Now she will turn into ice. Only an act of true love can save her, and she doesn't love you, so she will die!"

"Shut up!" Elsa said, sending a sharp icicle straight through his heart, effectively silencing his infuriating laughter, and ending his life at last. Then, she started worrying about what he had said. She couldn't let Anna die! She was her reason to live! But… she needed an act of true love. Perhaps a true love's kiss, like in fairy tales? But… did Anna love her?

It didn't matter, Elsa's love for her sister would have to suffice.

"Anna? Can you stand up?" Elsa asked, turning to her sister and trying to help her up, but the redhead backed away from her and stood up on her own, glaring at Elsa.

"Yes." She said curtly. Honestly, she didn't feel a thing at revelation that she would die sooner than expected. She didn't know if she was in shock or if she had lost the will to live so long ago her own death didn't matter to her anymore. What was true was that she didn't want to spend a second longer with her sister. No. With the _Ice Queen_ ; this monster in front of her, covered in blood and looking absolutely terrifying.

However, before she could even think to run away, Elsa stepped towards her and quickly held her in her arms, pressing their bodies together and preventing her from moving.

"Let me go!" Anna yelled. "You didn't thaw Arendelle, you don't have any right to touch me."

"You need an act of true love." Elsa argued, ignoring her protests. And sure enough, soon she was pressing her lips against Anna. The princess squirmed and tried to get away, but even in her injured state, Elsa was stronger than her, and didn't let her go. However, the kiss ended soon enough.

Elsa separated from her sister, just enough to look at her and see the white in her hair hadn't disappeared, and she seemed to be in pain still. Maybe a chaste kiss wasn't enough?

And so, before Anna could even recover from the last kiss, her lips were being assaulted once more. This time, Elsa even used her tongue to pry her lips open, and Anna tasted blood coming no doubt from her sister's mouth. She struggled and tried to push her away, but when that didn't work, she had to bite her hard, until the taste of blood became even stronger.

Elsa, however, mistook Anna's actions for passion and, being unable to contain herself, dragged her upstairs, to their room. Anna protested the whole way, but Elsa didn't listen. Seeing the strand of white hair still stubbornly marring her sister's natural red, she concluded a kiss wasn't enough. She would make love to Anna in order to save her. It wasn't an act of lust. It wasn't rape; it was just something she would need to do to save the only person who still mattered to her. At least, that's what she was saying on her head as she pushed the doors open and threw Anna into the bed.

The truth was, killing Percival had made her incredibly aroused. And now she had all the justification she needed to take what was hers.

And so, she started tearing Anna's clothes apart, viciously attacking with her lips and teeth every bit of flesh exposed, ignoring her sister's screams and attempts to escape from underneath her.

Anna was terrified. If the prospect of dying in the near future wasn't bad enough, now she was being raped by her sister. But not only that; she was _angry_. She was tired of being used as a mere object. She remembered how Hans would fuck her against her will, and she acknowledged even that was better than being mercilessly ravished by someone she once thought cared deeply about her.

This was Elsa. The same girl she had played with for years. The same one who used to act as the perfect older sister, protecting her from any harm. That same girl was now actively hurting her; making her feel like she was worth nothing, that what she wanted wasn't important, that she was but a whore to be used and abused to please others.

Why did she ever believe her sister was worth saving? That she was worthy of being given another chance? The others were right. Elsa was nothing but a dangerous witch that needed to be killed, for the security of the kingdom. And Anna was a naïve little girl who knew nothing about anything.

Well, her eyes had been opened now. She wouldn't go down without a fight. She'd never let anyone use her again!

Before her sister could process what Anna was doing, the younger woman took her dagger out from her left sleeve and, with a swift movement, pierced Elsa's back with it.

The Ice Queen screamed and finally let go of her, getting out of the bed as she tried to get the dagger out of her body. Once she did, she glared at the blood-covered blade, and then at Anna. Her magic got agitated in response to her rage, ready to strike down the one who had hurt her… and then she realized the state in which Anna was.

Her sister. The one she had sworn many times she loved more than anything in the world. Her sister, who she had seen grow up from a little baby to a beautiful woman, too perfect to be with someone like her. That same girl was now laying on her bed, her clothes turn apart, her body exposed, marked and abused by Elsa's rough hands and hard teeth. Her eyes angry, hurt and… full of _hate_.

Her hair was still white, and a snowflake marked her skin where her heart was. Still frozen. _Of course_ it was still frozen. Elsa didn't love Anna; she had proven so by almost raping her. And Anna didn't love her. She hated her. And why shouldn't she? Elsa was a monster. She had always been.

In that moment, Elsa wished the wound Anna had inflicted on her was large enough to kill her. But she knew it wasn't.

And since she couldn't' die, she did the next best thing: run away.

* * *

 **A/N: Wow, that was hard to write. I feel so bad for Anna :(**

 **Anyways, I hope I made you cry I lot... uh, I mean... I hope I _didn't_ make you cry a lot XD. Please leave a review, I'd like to know your thoughts about this chapter, as well as what you think will happen now that this story is comming to an end. It helps me write more. **

**Thanks for reading :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	26. The last hope

**Chapter 26: The last hope.**

Elsa was worried sick. She knew that what Percival had said before dying was true; Anna would die unless she did _something_. She had done some experiments with her powers in the past, both in animals and in humans, and every single time, when she froze their heart, they would freeze to death in a matter of either hours or days, depending on their size. With Anna… it would probably be two days; three, at most. And one had passed already.

She wasn't one hundred percent sure about the act of true love being the solution though, since she had never tried to save any of her victims. She had just read it in one of the books about magic that Percival had brought from his kingdom. But as far as either of them knew, those books were extremely old and no one knew for sure if everything they contained was true. Still, if there was any hope to save Anna, she was going to grasp it and never let go of it.

The problem now was… she needed to find her sister an act of true love. And of course, kissing her or doing anything of the sort was out of the question. She didn't love Anna. She simply was a monster that lusted after her own sister and raped her when she couldn't get what she wanted. But even if she tried to search in the deepest places of her soul the little bit of pure sisterly love she still had for her… would Anna reciprocate? After all Elsa had done? Truth be told, the older girl suspected Anna stopped loving her a long time ago; ever since she got her suitors and forgot about her imperfect and rebellious older sister. And now… well, now she probably hated her.

So what could she do? Take her to her husband? As much as Elsa would like to deny that Hans had any romantic interest in her sister, she had to admit she didn't know much about the prince. Sure, he was a dick to her, and he wanted to use her as a weapon to dominate the world, but… she had never seen him treating Anna badly. And there was a time when the younger sister would swoon over him when Hans as much as flipped his hair. If it wasn't for Kristoff, Hans would have been number one option for Anna, so when she ended up marrying him… maybe she did end up falling in love with her husband? And maybe he loved her in return. If that was the case, he was the only hope to save Anna.

But no. How could Elsa ever allow her near him again? To return to her home, far away from her? How could she submit herself to such pain? Was it even worth it saving Anna if she couldn't have her for herself?

What was she saying? Of course it was! But… then again, she wasn't even sure there was any chance to save her. If only the books explained things more clearly! Maybe there was something else she could do.

These were the sort of thoughts Elsa had been having on her head, going on in an infinite cycle that led her nowhere and didn't allow her to take any actions. This had been going on for more than 24 hours already; ever since she fled from her chambers and ran off to the forest… leaving a very injured Anna behind. She wanted to go back to her palace and check on her, but at the same time, she was afraid of what she may find there. She was afraid her sister had run away and died as a victim of a pack of wolves. Afraid that Anna had frozen to death already, and that she was too late. And… she was afraid of finding her sister still in her room, looking just as she left her; clothes torn, skin marked with clear signs of manhandling, and… eyes full of hate. Hate that seemed to penetrate all the way into Elsa's own heart and crush it into a million pieces.

She didn't want to go back to her palace. But she knew she'd have to, eventually.

And so, her steps unconsciously started guiding her to her home, until she found herself staring at the front door of the palace. For a brief moment she considered turning back and running off again, making all sorts of excuses in her head, like that the storm that had been surrounding her all day long wouldn't do any good to Anna's condition, but… she figured that, since the storm was enveloping all the extent of Arendelle, going into the palace wouldn't make any difference. And so, she gathered her resolve and walked in.

The main hall was just as she'd left it; a wrecked mess. Her statues had turned into spiky and deformed versions of themselves, and a great portion of the floor was covered in blood. In fact, the smell was kinda overwhelming; it made her want to kill something again… but she controlled herself and made her way upstairs. She was here for Anna, not to see the stupid corpse of Percival.

Upon arriving to her room, she hesitated before opening the door. She didn't want to know what was (or wasn't) waiting for her in there but she knew that, if Anna was on the other side of the door, it was unfair to just let her spend her last days of her life alone and with no hope of finding a cure. No. She would save her. She needed to do at least one good thing in her life. But… maybe she should knock; allow her sister the chance to deny her entrance if she so desired.

She hit the door three times with her fist, making sure she was loud enough to wake up her sister if she was asleep, but still she had no answer. Sighing and thinking she was being ignored, Elsa knocked again, louder, and waited for a few moments to try and catch any sound at all coming from the other side of the door, but silence reigned. Losing all hope, she was about to knock once again when she heard a small sound, almost too quiet to be perceived over the raging storm outside, but still clearly distinguishable.

A pained moan. Then a grunt and heavy breathing. Elsa didn't need to hear any more to make the door crumble into a million pieces and burst inside the room.

There, laying on the bed, was Anna. She was curled up under three heavy blankets, trembling because of the cold despite this fact, and her hair was even whiter than before; now, more than a half of it had lost its natural red color.

"Anna?" Elsa called as she carefully approached her, noticing how she kept shivering and shifting her position in order to gain more warmth. She also kept uttering weak pained sounds and looking very distressed despite being asleep. "Anna, can you hear me?" She asked, reaching out to shake her awake. Still, Anna remained in the land of dreams, probably too weak to wake up.

This worried Elsa greatly; in her experience, once her victims reached this state they… only had a few hours left. A day tops. Once Anna's skin started freezing over, she would be doomed. And being inside a palace made of ice probably wasn't helping her.

Seeing her like this… so vulnerable, her usually cheerful and energetic self gone, hurt because of Elsa's own magic… it made something snap inside the older sister. A realization clear as day came to her mind: she couldn't let her die. She didn't care if she had to give up any hopes of living a happy life alongside Anna; she'd sacrifice her own happiness, or even her own life, if that meant her sister could have a second chance to live.

Anna had been the only source of happiness she'd ever known. The only one who had ever loved her, and had seen her as more than just the witch of the prophecy. For so long they were more than just best friends; they were the world for each other. Elsa knew that, if not for Anna, she would have either died or turn evil long before she did. Sure, they had also fought, and some of the things Anna had done had hurt her deeply, but… she still loved her. More than she could ever love herself.

And so, even knowing this was a suicidal plan with no warranty of working, Elsa made a hole on one of the walls of her room and whistled loudly to call for her eagle. Anna grunted and tried to curl over herself even more when the cold wind of the mountain entered the room, but Elsa soon rushed to her and picked her up in her arms, careful to keep the blankets wrapped tightly around her.

Not even a second later Jairah appeared, apparently sensing the urgency of her owner, and bowed her head so Elsa could climb on top. She didn't have her saddle on though, but there was no time for that; Anna needed to be with her husband in front of a warm fire and drinking hot chocolate as soon as possible. Sure, it was difficult to get on the eagle while carrying Anna, and then to find a comfortable position to ride on, but she managed. And soon, they were racing at maximum speed towards Arendelle's castle, hoping they could find a solution to a problem that was impossible to solve.

* * *

Elsa knew she wouldn't exactly be welcomed with open arms at Arendelle's castle, so as soon as they started shooting arrows at her eagle and soldiers came out to the courtyard in a hurry, no doubt wanting to kill her, she did the only logical thing she could; show them she had their Queen.

"Hold your fire!" Elsa shouted, still hovering a few feet over the soldiers' head. "You wouldn't want to kill your Queen, would you?" She smirked when she saw their stunned faces as she removed the blankets from Anna's head just enough to let them see her face.

"Stop!" The captain yelled to the rest of his soldiers. "Lower your weapons." They seemed hesitant at first, but one by one they reluctantly put their weapons on the ground, allowing Elsa to descend into the courtyard wearing a self-sufficient smirk. If she would have known that taking control over Arendelle would be that easy, she would have done so the moment Anna showed up at her door. "What do you want in this late hour, Ice Queen?" The captain spat, clear disdain on his voice, but also worry for his captured Queen.

"I wish to speak with Hans." Elsa simply said, descending from her eagle, still carrying Anna in her arms. The princess twitched, probably wanting to know what was happening around her, but still unable to wake up.

"Here I am, Elsa." Sounded a voice from the castle's main door, and all heads turned to look at the king, still in his royal garments, descending proudly the few steps that separated the castle from the courtyard. "Ah… I see you brought my beloved wife with you." He said, stopping in his tracks when he saw who Elsa was carrying. "Truth to be told, I was starting to miss her a bit. You wish to make a deal? Her life in exchange of what?"

Elsa didn't like the way he spoke, but she decided that, if she had already come so far, she should at least carry through with her plan.

"Anna is injured, and only an act of true love can save her. I will give her to you, but you'll have to promise me you'll do anything in your power to stop the curse." She said, sounding cold, but… there was a verily noticeable waver on her voice that revealed just how scared she really was, and Hans noticed it immediately.

"So… you don't want me to hand you over the kingdom? Or even to let you go?" He chuckled. The soldiers mumbled, obviously thinking their king had lose his mind to tell such things to the number one enemy of the kingdom.

"You and I both know you wouldn't agree to such a deal." Elsa stated, rolling her eyes.

"You know me well enough." He hummed in agreement. "Alright. I promise, by my honor as king, that I'll do everything in my power to save Anna's life. You have my word." He said this placing his only hand on his chest, and Elsa could see his eyes were honest for once. He didn't tried to hide a smirk; he didn't have an evil glint. He really meant what he'd said.

"Alright. Take her inside the castle then." She said, and Hans gestured a guard to go and grab the Queen in his stead, given he couldn't carry her having just one arm. "Make sure she's warmed up by the fire and drinks something hot, and... show her love."

The soldier who was going to carry Anna inside hesitantly reached for her, and Elsa's gaze shifted between him and her sister, struggling to let go of her beloved. At least she wanted to say goodbye, but… in front of all these people? What would they say of the Ice Queen lowering her guard like that?

But then again, did it even matter? After leaving Anna she would escape to the North Mountain to live in isolation just like before. The winter she had set would continue to cover the entirety of the kingdom, and her snow monsters would still attack whoever was foolish enough to try and kill her. She would continue being feared and despised, no matter what she did now.

"Anna…" She started, looking down at the frail figure sleeping on her arms. "I'm sorry for… well, you know." She sighed. "I wished I could have been a better sister to you, but now… now I'll let you go. If you live, I hope you're happy here."

She wanted to give her a goodbye kiss, but… she didn't feel like she deserved to even touch her after what she'd done, and she figured Anna wouldn't appreciate it if she were conscious, so she just handed her sister over to the soldier and backed up, looking up at Hans.

"I warn you, if my sister dies, I'll kill you." She snarled, putting up her best intimidating glare.

"That's why I'm not taking any chances." Hans answered with a smirk, and instantly the soldiers started attacking Elsa.

Caught by surprise, she was unable to evade an arrow that gave her a cut on the side of her neck, thankfully not hitting anything important. The other attacks she either blocked with her ice or blasted away with magic; still, she found herself struggling quite a bit.

It's not like she wasn't expecting this from Hans; she knew she was an enemy to the kingdom and the king held a personal grudge against her for freezing his arm, so she knew he wouldn't let her go without a fight. But she wasn't in the best condition to defend herself, neither physically nor mentally. She was still tired and wounded by her fight with Percival the previous day, and the wound Anna had inflicted on her had made her loose quite a bit of blood, not to mention she had spent a whole day walking at the mountains and stressing over her sister, which had worn her out. Also, she felt like the shittiest shit in the world for what she'd done to Anna; both for freezing her heart and… well, every moment after, and a part of her thought that she deserved to die. No. That she _needed_ to die. Maybe then Anna would be saved. So she put less effort on fighting back than usual and as result, got hit.

She still killed a few soldiers though; maybe more than a dozen in a matter of minutes. The moment they got too close to her, they would be killed like flies. Her objective was getting back to Jairah and escaping flying on her back, but when she finally got near her eagle she saw she was also being attacked by Hans' soldiers, but was doing quite an effort to defend herself.

This angered Elsa, since she never saw Jairah the same way she did her snow monsters. She could kill, sure, but that wasn't the purpose she was designed for. She was a manifestation of the beauty in Elsa's magic, untarnished by the murderous brutality she had put in all her other living creations. She was intimidating, but gentle. She was big but sometimes acted like a little chick, starved for Elsa's attention and love. She was created as a means for Elsa to escape her past life of oppression and abuse, and as such, she was a symbol of hope and happiness in Elsa's eyes.

Now, she was being bombarded with arrows and spears, fighting to avoid the sharp swords and failing miserably. Elsa had always wondered if her creations could feel any pain at all, and now, hearing Jairah's horrendous shrieks… now she had no doubt.

She wanted to go save her; just create a huge snowstorm and kill everyone in sight but… there was just one problem with that. Hans was still there, watching the battle from the castle's door, and the soldier carrying Anna was at his side. If she were to release all her power, she'd risk injuring her sister further; perhaps even killing her. And that was a risk she was _not_ going to take, so she kept holding herself back, slowly pushing through the soldiers to get in order to her eagle.

Suddenly, just when she was in the middle of piercing a man's heart with a big icicle, a thunderous bang was heard, and she instinctively covered her ears and raised an ice shield around herself. The explosion that followed made the whole courtyard resonate and vibrate with its force, but once it was over, Elsa immediately opened her eyes and looked for its source, her heart beating with enough force that she could feel it in her whole body, and her ears barely able to pick any sound.

Once she realized what was happening, however, it was already too late.

A mortar had been fired, and the big metal bomb had hit Jairah's head, blowing it up. The magnificent ice beast then fell to the ground, motionless, before disintegrating into millions of tiny snowflakes. Instantly, Elsa felt a pang inside her chest, and her eyes filled with tears that she refused to let out. Jairah had been her only friend the last few years; the only one she ever talked to about how much she missed Anna, or how she sometimes wished she could be good instead of evil, and now she was gone for good.

Sure, she could create another eagle, but it wouldn't be the same. She felt empty, lifeless; like she had nothing to fight for anymore. And so, she didn't try to defend herself when a soldier hit her head with the pommel of his sword, and she fell to the ground, unconscious.

* * *

 **A/N: Ha! Cliffhanger! You may have already noticed, but I just absolutely _love_ cliffhangers XD. Though rest assured; next chapter should come out sooner than usual, since I plan to finish this fic before April ends. Anyways, thanks for reading I hope you leave a review if you liked it (or if you cried when Jairah died), and see you soon :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	27. An act of true love

**Chapter 27: An act of true love.**

Anna stirred awake as she felt warmth for the first time in what seemed like an eternity. Something wasn't right though; the heat was barely able to reach her skin, without going any deeper, leaving her desperate for more. Even just a little bit more. Enough to placate the searing pain she felt inside her chest, to warm her limbs and force out the chill permeating her entire body.

So, the Queen unconsciously moved closer to the source of warmth without even opening her eyes. Being snuggled up under three blankets and next to what seemed to be a fire was wonderful, compared to what she was feeling when she fell asleep. Just cold, emptiness and darkness. And pain. Pain that her sister had attempted to rape her and then abandoned her to die. Just thinking about it made her want to cry all over again, and her heart started hurting so much she moved even closer to the fire.

"I really think you should stop." A masculine voice said. "I don't think you want to burn to death, right? Though freezing probably isn't that pleasant either."

At first Anna didn't recognize the voice, but then she remembered. Her husband. But… that couldn't be right! What was Hans doing in Elsa's palace?

Slowly, she opened her eyes, and realized she wasn't in Elsa's palace anymore. Instead, she was… in her room? Yes, it looked like she was in Arendelle's castle, lying on a rug just inches away from the lit fireplace. Hans, on the other hand, was sitting on a couch behind her, calmly drinking a glass of red wine.

"Wh-what… how…?" She tried to ask something; make some sense of her situation, but her throat felt utterly dry and cold, so all that came out of her were pathetic squeaks.

"I'll explain everything, I promise." He said. "But first, you should sit up and drink some hot chocolate; you sure as hell look like you need it."

Anna actually felt too weak to sit up on her own, but the promise of hot chocolate made her stand up in shaky legs, using the couch for support, before climbing on top of it and sitting herself next to Hans, still holding firmly the blankets around herself. Instantly, he smiled and handed her a cup of chocolate he had on a table nearby, and she drank it without worrying it was actually so hot it burned her mouth and throat. That's just what she needed; a hot liquid pouring some life inside her dying body.

"So… apparently you're cursed." Hans said nonchalantly. "And you're gonna die unless you find an act of true love."

"How do you know?" Anna paused her drinking of the wonderful beverage just enough to ask.

"Elsa told me. She actually brought you here, you know?" He chuckled. "She thought _I_ was your act of true love."

Anna frowned, wondering for a moment how her sister could be so stupid, but… then she realized she hadn't mentioned the nature of her relationship with Hans in all the time she had been living with her sister. She had been too focused on forgetting the past, and Elsa had been too centered on getting what she wanted to ask. But, oh well, it's not like it mattered. No one loved her, not even her sister, so she was going to die either ways. She actually preferred to die at her home, instead of miles away on an icy mountain.

"She even got herself captured in the process." Hans continued after drinking some more of his wine. "It was kinda disappointing actually. I thought she'd put up more of a fight, but I guess her injuries didn't let her." He paused, leaving his glass and picking up a dagger he'd left on the floor next to the couch. _Her_ dagger. "I do wonder if you were the one who inflicted them on her. Your blade _is_ covered in blood after all."

"Not all of them." Anna grimaced, remembering the circumstances in which she had stabbed her sister. And feeling guilty for her imprisonment, after all… she actually came back for her, and brought her all the way to Arendelle in hopes of saving her. Maybe she shouldn't have been so hard on her. Maybe her hopes of Elsa being good on the inside held some ground after all.

"Well, either way, the important thing is everything worked out as planned." He smiled with satisfaction. "You hurt Elsa, I arrested her and… you got yourself mortally injured." He added with a sinister smirk.

"All that I have to do now is kill Elsa, find another wife, and then… Then I'll be the King of a prosperous nation: the Hero who saved Arendelle." At his words, Anna's already injured heart twisted painfully inside her chest, to the point she thought it'd actually break. Instantly, the few strands of her hair that were still red turned white.

It's not like Anna loved him, or thought he loved her in any way, and she had believed he was planning on getting rid of her since the beginning, but… it was very different to think those might be his intentions. To actually hear him say it out loud, in such a nonchalant voice, as if he was talking about the weather, was another level of agony. Plus… there was no way she could do anything about it. She was dying; that much was clear. And no one could save her because no one loved her. And she couldn't save Elsa… actually she wasn't really sure she wanted to. Not after… after _that_.

"Where's my sister?" She asked anyways, because well, Elsa had been the one who brought her there. The only one who cared about her enough to try and save her, the least she could do was pay her a visit.

"She's in the dungeons." He shrugged. "I will execute her tomorrow morning."

"She'll escape." Anna warned him, confident of Elsa's powers. "If she hasn't already."

"Nah." He served himself more wine and started drinking again. "That cell previously contained her for more than a week, and she wasn't even wounded back then. It's equipped with ice-proof shackles. Your parents weren't stupid."

"Ice-proof shackles? W-what are you talking about?" Anna asked, trying not to listen to her own mind, repeating words her sister had said to her not too long ago: _"When I did something wrong, I was always hit until my hands bled or thrown into a dungeon for a week."_

Could it be? Back then she assumed her sister was exaggerating, but what if she wasn't? Were their parents really that cruel?

"Oh, that's right, you didn't know." He sighed. "Your parents made me and everyone else swear not to say anything to you, but now that they're dead, I guess there's no harm on telling you."

He paused, thinking. "Where to start? Well, I guess you should know your parents were terrified of your sister, to the point they'd beat her if she so much as conjured a single snowflake, even as a child." He chuckled. "I almost felt kinda bad for her back then; such a scared and lost little girl… who got angry at everything and didn't care if she got in trouble for trying to scare off her sister's suitors."

Anna listened intently, feeling awful with every word he said. She was Elsa's sister, and yet a prince from another kingdom had realized much more quickly the abuse Elsa suffered in her everyday life. Meanwhile, where had she been? Swooning over charming princes and dreaming of her wedding day. She suddenly felt sick.

"Anyways, they were so scared they actually commissioned a pair of shackles to be made of the strongest iron, hopping they would be able to retain Elsa's magic inside them, just like the gloves did, in case she went… _wild_." He paused, frowning.

"Around that time, my father had taken a special interest in magical creatures, and when I mentioned Elsa he said he would very much like to use her as a weapon to conquer other kingdoms, so I tried to convince your sister to do our bidding. As you might expect… that didn't work out very well." He looked pointedly at his missing arm, and Anna immediately understood he was referring to the little incident with Elsa that ultimately resulted in her marrying the prince of the Southern Iles.

"So, as punishment, they locked her inside a cell for a week. The poor thing was so angry she refused to eat the whole time, and looked like a pathetic mess when I got a chance to see her; I bet she cried the whole time she was in there." He laughed, like Elsa's suffering amused him. "Honestly, it's a wonder she didn't turn evil and kill your parents a long time ago."

Anna didn't know if she wanted to cry or just punch her husband in the face. How could she be so blind? All those years, she let her sister suffer alone without even realizing it, and for what? To please her parents? To charm her suitors? Where did that lead her anyways? To a loveless marriage, a broken family and a frozen heart.

She began to wonder; could Elsa be really blamed for most of what she had done? Forcing herself on Anna aside… she could be easily forgiven for almost everything else, if Hans' words were true. Anna didn't remember much of her childhood, but she did remember how much Elsa loved her, how she would actually push everything aside to play with her, even at the risk of pissing off their parents. Then, as they became teenagers they had become distant, and though Anna had been happy to put all the blame on Elsa, she now admitted to herself that she was also partially responsible.

She felt awkward knowing her sister's feelings for her, but now… now she wondered what would have happened if she had given Elsa a chance. If she had just listen to her heart for once, instead to her parents' voices. If she had paid attention to the clear signs of mistreatment and tried to help Elsa back on her feet. If she had been a better sister, a better person… maybe, only maybe, her sister wouldn't be in a cell, and she wouldn't be freezing to death. Maybe they would be living happily ever after in a frozen wonderland.

If only… if only she saw things clearly.

"Hey, don't feel bad." Hans said, placing his arm over Anna's shoulders and pulling her towards him. "Elsa is a monster. Your parents knew that much, as did everyone else. So, why don't you?"

Anna closed her eyes, letting a few tears fall down her cheeks. Her heart felt like it was being crushed painfully inside her chest. Because she _had_ believed Elsa was a monster, and she had thought she deserved to die for it, instead of seeing the truth: who cared about Arendelle? About her dead parents? Honestly, they had gotten what they deserved. They had abused a little girl just for being different, denied Elsa her birthright, and they suffered the consequences. Because anyone who chose Hans over Elsa deserved to freeze to death, including her.

So… was this how it ended? The naïve girl dies because she couldn't help her sister long ago. Now cold, lonely and unloved, just as Elsa was for years. And Elsa dies unjustly and the kingdom is thawed. But… there had to be more, right? She couldn't just go down without a fight! She had to try and save her sister, or at the very least speak to her just one more time. She had to make up for all the years they'd spent apart.

Just then, her left hand felt something hard inside of Hans' pocket, and she carefully extracted it, taking care he didn't notice. It was small and metallic, like a key. Maybe… the key to her sister's cell? Or her sister's shackles? Why else would he be carrying it in his pocket, alone? It was worth a try.

"Hans." She called her husband, who acknowledged her with a little hum. "Do you think I could see her? Before… ?" she left the question open, deeming it too terrible to finish it.

"I don't see why not." He shrugged. "Do you feel strong enough for that?"

"Yes." She answered with conviction. "Please, take me to her."

* * *

Anna entered the cell, barely able to stay standing, but making an effort to appear stronger than she felt. She didn't want to worry her sister, after all. Still, she couldn't keep herself from shivering as soon as the door opened and the cold wind hit her face, despite wearing the winter dress she'd bought at Oaken's and a black hood Hans had lent her.

She was nervous. She had no idea of what she was going to do or say. She had no idea if she'd be able to free her sister, and she was scared of finding only a monster in there, but she steeled her resolve and walked in.

"Elsa?" She called her sister, who was sitting on a concrete bed, looking out of a small window with her back turned to her. However, when she heard her voice, she turned around immediately.

Anna stopped as the door closed behind her; the metallic sound echoing through the dungeon, and she took a good look at Elsa. She was bruised and wounded, her ice dress red with blood stains, and her eyes looked cold and hollow, almost like they had no life in them. That last thought gave Anna chills.

"Uhm…" She shifted uncomfortably when her sister didn't say anything. "H-hi." She swallowed. "So, I was told you brought me here. To save me. So, uh, thank you."

"Your hair is still white." Elsa noticed, frowning with concern.

"Well, my marriage with Hans was arranged, so…" Anna trailed off, not wanting to admit Elsa's sacrifice had been in vain, that she was going to die anyways. They _both_ were going to die.

"I was hoping you had developed feelings for each other over the years." Elsa sighed, looking down at her trapped hands. "But I already knew it was a long shot." She frowned. "I guess even when I try doing something good for once, I end up fucking things up."

"Elsa, that's not true." Anna said in a reassuring manner as she kneeled down in front of her and carefully took her hands between hers. Except they couldn't touch directly, being separated by cold steel. "You are being too harsh on yourself; you've done plenty of good things."

"Like what?" Elsa spat, sounding angry. But that anger was clearly directed towards herself, not Anna.

"Well… for starters, I wouldn't be who I am today if it wasn't for you." Anna started, set on improving her sister's self-esteem. "You taught me that sometimes it's okay to ignore the rules and have fun. That a princess doesn't have to be poised and regal all the time, and that mischief is often worth the punishment, if shared with the right person. You also were my first kiss, and showed me that sometimes the perfect prince is actually a princess in disguise. And… that showing kindness is possible even if you're broken inside." She sighed, remembering their childhood together. "You taught me that and so much more, Elsa. It's not your fault I'm a slow learner." Anna chuckled, and waited for a few seconds for her sister to say something.

"I… I also taught you how to talk and how to walk." She finally said, just when Anna was starting to worry, and surprisingly her voice sounded happy, but also like she was holding herself back from crying. "But… you give me too much credit. Seriously, without you, I would have had no reason to try and be good. I would have never learned to love. I would have never had someone to protect and cherish. And… I wouldn't have fucked things up by falling in love with you, so… I'm sorry."

"No, Elsa, don't apologize." Anna started, but was interrupted by Elsa's serious gaze. It was obvious she still wanted to say some things.

"Please, I just… I want to get this out of my chest." She sighed. "I'm… I'm sorry for falling in love with you and ruining our relationship as sisters. I'm sorry my actions resulted in you marrying someone you don't love. I'm sorry I killed our father and caused you pain. I'm sorry I froze Arendelle, and…" She paused, pursuing her lips. "I'm sorry I froze your heart and then raped you. I-I… I really am."

"Elsa… the frozen heart thing was an accident, and I don't blame you for it." She assured her.

"But the other things weren't accidents and, what's worse, I don't regret doing any of them. Except… you know, _raping_ you." She practically spat that word.

"I understand. You were angry, you wanted people to pay, and you _had_ the power to make them pay. I think most people would have done the same." Anna reasoned.

"I know." Elsa sighed. "I just hope one day you'll be able to forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive." Anna assured her with a gentle smile. "After all, many of those things wouldn't have happened if I had been a better sister to you. If I had tried to help you overcome our parents' abuse towards you instead of ignoring and denying it."

"Anna…" Elsa tried to start the discussion again, but her sister interrupted her.

"Look, what I really mean to say is that I don't blame you for what happened, and I want to help you. It may be too late now, but I'm not going down without at least _trying_." She paused, taking a deep breath. "Elsa, we could escape, run away and live in the mountains. Just you and me, what do you say?"

"I wished we could, but you're too weak for that. You only have a few hours left to live." Elsa answered, sounding sad and resigned.

"And you're hours away from being executed!" Anna argued. "If you won't take me with you, then at least save yourself."

"Would you just let me out and leave the kingdom to suffer?" Elsa asked, raising an eyebrow. "I won't thaw it, you know?"

"I don't care. Being at the blink of death has set my priorities right." Anna answered with determination. "What has Arendelle ever done for me? Nothing, except drive my sister away. I owe them nothing, and to you… I owe you _everything_."

"And while I appreciate that you are willing to do that for me…" Elsa interrupted her rather passionate discourse. "I can't let you die. The only thing worse than death itself would be living on knowing I killed you." Anna opened her mouth to object, but Elsa kept talking before she had the chance. "But if I'm executed, there's a chance all my magic will be reversed and you will be saved."

"We don't know that." Anna answered, angry at her sister for refusing her help.

"But if there's even a small possibility to help you, I'll take it!" Elsa snarled, but when Anna flinched she softened her expression. "Please, just... just let me save you."

"No! _You_ let me save you!" Anna answered, raising her tone of voice as, at the same time, she pulled out the key of (she hoped) her sister's shackles. She attempted to put it inside the keyhole and free Elsa's hands, but the older woman realized it and got up, stepping away from Anna. "Elsa, please! You deserve a happy life." Anna yelled, getting up with great difficulty.

"I won't be happy if you die!" Elsa yelled back, but when she saw the unwavering determination in her sister's eyes, she realized she couldn't be able to convince her, no matter what. "Alright, you leave me no choice." She sighed.

Instantly, frost covered Elsa's shackles, and quickly spread through the already icy walls and floor, covering them in sharp icicles and forming a barrier between the two sisters. Then, the ice kept spreading until it reached the door… and went out of it.

Instantly, a bulky prison guard bolted in and punched Elsa's face, yelling at her for attacking the Queen, even when Anna tried to stop him. Then, he pretty much dragged the younger sister out of the cell as she kicked and screamed at him to let her go. The last thing Anna saw before the door closed was Elsa's bloody but smiling face, satisfied now that she knew her little sister would be safe.

* * *

Boos and insults were heard as Elsa was brought onto a wooden platform at the castle's courtyard to be executed. More than a few also threw rocks or rotten fruit at her, and many did hit their mark. All the while, however, Elsa remained calm, staring down at them like their actions were completely inconsequential to her; like she was a goddess and they were just insects.

Anna was actually impressed that, even while being bruised and bloody, Elsa managed to look regal. It reminded her of their etiquette lessons, and how their teacher would always scold Anna because her posture was never quite as straight as her sister's. Actually… now that she thought about it, Elsa was always better than her in almost everything (except perhaps social interaction). She had no doubt that, if given the chance, she would have been a better Queen than her.

Even more tears fell from her eyes at the thought, joining the many she had cried since she left Elsa's prison a couple of hours ago. She just couldn't stand the thought that her sister would die for her. Such a selfless act… that she wished Elsa had allowed her to do for her instead. But now it was too late; her chains had already been tied to two wooden posts, separating her arms and immobilizing her. Her feet were also chained in the same fashion, so now she had nowhere to go.

 _Please escape. Please escape._ Anna chanted over and over in her head, almost like a prayer. Like thinking about it would actually set Elsa free from her chains and she'd run away.

But her sister didn't escape, instead remaining stoic in her bounds as Hans started listing her crimes. Both monarchs were at the platform, and the King himself would be the one who would execute her, since he wanted revenge for his missing arm. At least Anna had managed to convince him to do it as quickly and painless as possible… she only hoped he would keep his word.

"Princess Elsa of Arendelle." Hans started talking, and everyone instantly quieted down. "Better known as the Ice Queen. You are accused of sorcery, treason, regicide, genocide, torture, kidnapping, stealing, disturbing the public peace, attempting against the integrity of the kingdom and several more crimes against the Crown." He paused, looking sternly at her. "The sentence to such crimes is death." To emphasize his words, in that moment he took his sword out of the sheath. Anna visibly flinched at the sight. "Any last words?" He smirked sinisterly.

Elsa finally raised her head, looking straight into Anna's eyes, seemingly penetrating all the way to her soul and seeing her just as she was, making her feel almost naked. Anna, however, only could see pain and sorrow in her sister's eyes; the two emotions she had fought hard not to see all her life. But that day it was different. They were both going to die soon; Anna could feel it, as her hands and feet had started turning into solid ice, making it very difficult for her to move. And Elsa… she was facing her executioner. There was no need for pretense anymore.

"Anna…" She started, speaking so quietly only the people nearby could hear her. "I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry for that. I'm doing this for you. I wished we could have spent more time together." She paused, hesitating for a moment before whispering, with tears in her eyes. "I love you."

Tears also started falling from Anna's eyes, her poor frozen heart twisting in agony at the knowledge those would be the last words of her sister. And she was barely able to contain her sobs just enough to answer.

"I-I know. I love you t-t-to." She chocked out, earning a small, bittersweet smile from Elsa, before Hans raised his sword and positioned himself in front of the prisoner.

"Lets finish this, shall we?" He said darkly, but just as he was preparing to kill Elsa, he felt a tug on his arm and turned to see Anna, lips quivering with barely contained sobs, and teary face.

"Stop. Please, you can't kill her." She cried, though that seemed more like a desperate attempt than one she had thought would actually succeed. "Please." She shivered.

"Anna, stay out of this." Hans snarled, freeing his arm from Anna's weak grip.

But the Queen didn't desist, and instead placed herself between her husband and her sister, extending her arms to the sides in a protective gesture, and glared at Hans.

"W-well, then you have to kill m-me first." She said, though between the sobs and the fact her throat felt like it was filled with tiny needles of ice, it was a miracle she could speak.

"Anna, what are you doing?!" Elsa yelled, panicked.

"I'm sorry, Elsa, b-but… I can't just let you die to s-save my life. That… t-that wouldn't be r-right." Anna answered, still looking straight at her husband. She had a defying glint in her eyes; she knew Hans wanted her dead, so maybe he would kill her, claiming she was working for the Ice Queen. And then Elsa would have no reason to die, so she would break out of her chains, kill Hans and escape. At least, that's what she was hoping for.

Hans held her gaze for a seconds, calculating his next move. At the end, he turned to one of the guards and said:

"The Queen is clearly disturbed. Grab her, and make sure she doesn't cause more trouble."

The guard nodded and went to take Anna away from Elsa. She fought, using what little strength she had left to resist, but it was all in vain. She was too weak now. She could barely breathe, and the skin on her face and belly had also started turning into ice. Even her vision was getting blurry with icy crystals. She couldn't fight the curse and the guard at the same time, but she kept trying, as she saw Hans raise his sword once again, a malevolent glint in his eyes.

"Farewell, Ice Queen." He said as he thrust his sword forward, piercing Elsa's chest.

"No!" Anna cried, doubling her efforts to get away from the guard that was holding her back.

Elsa closed her eyes, and tried to remain stoic, but with such a large blade being inside her body, it was difficult, and tears fell out of her eyes. Then, she let out a pained squeak when Hans twisted a little his sword, rejoicing in her suffering.

"Hans, stop!" Anna screamed, finding it too much to bear the fact that her sister was not only about to die, but was in deep pain. Her words, however, only made Hans twist the sword even further, to the point Elsa was screaming in agony. Even more blood flowed from her wound, and from her mouth too, painting the snow red.

And maybe that was what have Anna the strength to finally free herself from the guard and push Hans so hard, he actually fell off the platform. She, however, didn't pay him any mind, and instead went straight to her sister, cradling her face with her hands and wiping away the tears

"Elsa, listen, you're going to be okay. I-I… I… you can't… you can't leave me, you hear me?" She was almost choking on her sobs, but she didn't care. All she cared about was saving her sister, even if she knew at this point it was impossible.

Elsa opened her eyes, and when she looked at Anna, she managed to draw a little smile. Suddenly, she felt no pain, she felt no fear, because her sister's hair was finally red again, and her skin was pink instead of sickly white. The ice in her heart was gone.

Elsa opened her mouth in order to say one last thing to her sister, but she soon found she couldn't, due to the blood on her throat, but also because of how weak she felt. She could barely stay conscious. So she just mouthed out the words, and Anna was still able to understand them without a problem.

"I love you." She said.

"I love you too." Anna sobbed.

Elsa nodded, satisfied, and closed her eyes, ready to accept death with open arms. Just before all strength abandoned her, however, she felt a pair of warm lips on her own, and knew she might not had had a happy life, but at least she'd had a happy death.

The Ice Queen had finally died, and only one person mourned her loss.

In Arendelle, the storm continued to rage on.

* * *

 **A/N: So... there's only the epilogue next now, and I will post it in only one week. And I know most of you wanted Elsa to live, but this is how I had planned to end the story since the beginning, even if it's very heartbreaking. Actually, especially because it's so heartbreaking.**

 **Also, I made a drawing of one of the jail scene, so if you want to check it out at my deviantart or Tumblr (Tania Hylian in both sites), I'd really apreciate it.**

 **Anyways, thanks for reading, please leave a review, and see you next week :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


	28. Epilogue

**Epilogue.**

 _August 13th, 1842_

 _Dear diary:_

 _So… I've never done this diary thing before, but a friend of mine (Hilda, the girl who sells milk) recommended it to me because there are a lot of things I want to say and I can't, because, well, they're BAD. Like, really, really bad._

 _For starters, everybody here knows me as Anna the widow, sole survivor to the Great Freeze of Arendelle. The truth is, I'm much more than that. I was the Queen. So… how did I end up here? Well, after my sister Elsa, the infamous Ice Queen, died at the hands of my husband, I felt nothing but hatred towards him. More than that, I knew it was only a matter of time before he'd try to kill me in order to get another, non-sterile, wife and remove the only obstacle stopping him from seizing control of Arendelle. So I waited until the night after Elsa's execution and killed him in his sleep with the same dagger he'd given me to kill my own sister. Ironic, isn't it?_

 _Immediately after that, I raided my parent's hidden stash for as many valuable things as I could carry; mostly jewels and fine clothes I could easily sell, and ran away. I knew it was practically suicide, with the great snowstorm still raging throughout the whole kingdom, but I saddled up my horse and left. Funnily enough, I didn't die like I was hoping. Apparently, after being saved from the curse of the frozen heart, the cold no longer affected me, and I was able to make it to our neighboring kingdom; the kingdom my sister's fiancé was from. Here, I bought a little cabin in the woods, where I've been living ever since._

 _It's funny. I've been thinking about taking my own life many times since Elsa died, but… I just can't bring myself to do it, even though I've come pretty close more than once. I guess I feel like I'd be disrespecting my sister's sacrifice if I did it. She died to give me life, and now I have to live through it, even if I don't want to._

 _But lately, few things bring me any happiness at all. Mainly chocolate, and other sweets (I think I've gained a couple of pounds, actually). Though there are some other, rare exceptions. For example, just the other day I heard news from Arendelle. Apparently, it's become a frozen wasteland, and all of its inhabitants have turned into ice. No one dares going there, for fear of awakening the ghost of the Ice Queen._

 _I don't know why, but a part of me was glad to hear the news, and I even prepared hot chocolate to celebrate. I guess I just felt like they deserved it, for all they did to my sister. And it also confirmed that what saved me from freezing to death wasn't Elsa's magic disappearing as soon as she died, but the act of true love she performed by sacrificing herself for me._

 _So, I guess I'm an awful person. And I don't want anyone to know._

* * *

 _September 20th, 1842_

 _Dear diary:_

 _Today I went to the doctor. I hadn't been feeling well lately, and I was kinda hoping I had contracted some sort of incurable sickness. But no, of course it wasn't that. It was something WAY worse._

 _I've been feeling dizzy lately, and when I eat something, more often than not I throw it right back up. Unless it's chocolate, which for the moment I seem to tolerate somehow. I also haven't had my period since June. At first I thought it had nothing to do with the other symptoms, and that it was just a collateral effect of being almost frozen just before I was supposed to bleed, but… no. I'm pregnant._

 _I even went to two more doctors, traveling to towns that are far away from here. They all said the same thing. The signs are clear. I'm having a baby._

 _It's funny. Years ago, this would have been a blessing! My husband would have stopped pestering me, and being angry all the time at my inability to conceive an heir. But no. He just HAD to get me pregnant before I killed him and escaped._

 _I don't think I'll be able to take care of the child. I don't think I even want to. What if he looks like Hans? God, I'd probably hate him, even knowing it isn't his fault._

 _I think I'm gonna leave him at the orphanage as soon as he is born. And I know that makes me an even more awful person, abandoning an innocent baby like that, but… I just can't deal with this._

* * *

 _December 21th, 1842_

 _Dear diary:_

 _Today would have been Elsa's birthday, if she was still alive. Coincidentally, last night it snowed quite a lot here, and for the first time since my sister died, I was able to smile when I saw the white landscape from my window this morning._

 _I even had the energy to go to the town, chat with my new friends, and help some kids build a snowman._

 _I hadn't been so happy in a long time. And I wonder if I'll ever be as happy again._

* * *

 _April 5th, 1843._

 _Dear diary:_

 _I'm fat. And, no, it's not from eating chocolate. The baby should be born anytime now, or so the doctor says, which makes me think he probably was conceived just before I went to Elsa's palace to try and talk her into thawing Arendelle. That seems like it was an eternity ago. I wished I had stayed with her at her frozen kingdom. I wished I had never pressured her into saving a nation that was doomed anyways._

* * *

 _April 27th, 1843._

 _Dear diary:_

 _The baby was born three days ago, on April 24th, and it was a girl, unlike the boy I was imagining. And she is so tiny! And I know babies are usually very small, but she is smaller than usual, pale, with white hair, and she also cries a lot._

 _Yes, WHITE hair. As in, the same color I had when my heart was frozen. I guess she was also affected by the curse, but with no one to perform an act of true love for her, she wasn't cured. I don't think she'll live much, so I didn't have the heart to abandon her at the orphanage. The least I can give her is some comfort and warmth, so she has a short but happy life._

* * *

 _July 24th, 1843._

 _Dear diary:_

 _Taking care of a baby is HARD. Even with the women around town giving me counsel on how to do it. I have barely had any sleep! So, that's why I hadn't written anything in three months._

 _So, first of all, yes, I decided to keep the baby after I realized she wasn't going to die, and she has only grown healthier and stronger as the days have passed. I even gave her a name, though I'll admit I only did so after having her for a month or so. Her name is Elsa, like my sister. And she, just like her, has ice powers. I realized this when she sneezed one day and snowflakes appeared out of thin air, so that's why I decided to name her like my deceased sister._

 _That was about two months ago. Now, every time she cries, she freezes something. It's no wonder my parents were so afraid of Elsa ever since she was little! But I won't commit their mistakes. I'll raise my daughter as I wished my parents would have raised my sister; with love and acceptance. I won't fear her powers, and I'll make sure she has a happy life. And if someone ever threatens her, they'll have to go through me first._

 _But one good thing about this kingdom is they're so much more open about magic, and the wizards and witches are often treated respect and reverence. So I hope we won't have a problem when my baby's magic grows too strong to remain hidden._

 _Though… I do wonder where she got her powers from. I mean, yeah, Elsa was her aunt, but is that it? Maybe she absorbed some of the magic of the curse of the frozen heart while she was in my womb. Or… maybe she isn't Hans' daughter after all? Maybe my husband was sterile, not me. Maybe my little Elsa was conceived by magic, even when I never truly made love with my sister. Maybe it was a side effect of the act of true love?_

 _But maybe I'm overthinking things. Maybe it is just a hereditary trait that passed down from aunt to niece. I guess I'll never know._

* * *

 _October 30th, 1850._

 _Dear diary:_

 _I hadn't felt the need to write since my daughter's birth. Everything she does is wonderful, and makes me smile with joy and pride. And, by the way, her hair isn't white, as I assumed when she was born, but blonde. Platinum blonde, to be precise._

 _Oh! And she's just so kind and polite! And mischievous and playful too, though sometimes she surprises me with how serious she can be for her age. And smart. She reminds me of my sister in that regard. I guess it runs in the family._

 _But anyways, she's been going to school for almost a year now. She's very happy and she has a lot of friends, though her best friend is a goofy-looking boy named Olaf. He's a good kid, and he loves when Elsa makes snow for them to play. Everything is as perfect as it could be, and it's been years since I've had suicidal thoughts._

 _I mean, my little Elsa will never replace my sister, but she does fill the hole she left when she died._

 _The only thing even remotely resembling a problem we've had is, well, today a man from the King's court came to the school, wanting to talk to me. Apparently, His Majesty has heard of my daughter's magic, and she's the first one in centuries to be born with that kind of power in this kingdom, instead of having to learn it. He said he wanted to take us to the palace, so she could be taught how to use her magic by the Royal Wizard himself. She'd also receive proper education, almost like a princess._

 _I was tempted to accept, honestly, but at the end I said no. I remembered how crazy Percival could be sometimes, and I decided I didn't want that for Elsa, even if I do acknowledge she'll have to learn to control her magic at one point._

 _But I'll let her have a normal childhood, and decide for herself when she's older. If she wants to go learn with that wizard, then good for her; I'll support her and encourage her all the way through. If not, well, that'll be her decision too. Meanwhile, I hope we live peaceful and happy lives._

* * *

 **A/N: THE END. Yes, that was really the end. It's been a long journey, hasn't it? Two years (to the day, actually). Ever since I saw Frozen for the first time, I thought about making a darker version of it. Kinda like, what it could have been if they kept the concept of evil!Elsa and it was aimed to a more mature audience. And I'm quite satisfied with the end result.**

 **I just hope you liked reading this fic, even if you were displeased by the ending. But, I mean, I warned you about Elsa's death. Anyways, thanks for reading and for all the support you've given me. I hope you leave a review and, if you want to read my other stories (even if they are quite different from this one), that'd be great :)**

 **Thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13.**


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